Experiences of dehumanizing: Examining secondary victimization within the nurse-patient relationship among African American women survivors of sexual assault in the Upper Midwest

• Published in: Social science & medicine (1982) Vol. 329; p. 116029
• Main Authors: Ruiz, Ashley M., Moore, Kaylen M., Woehrle, Lynne M., Kako, Peninnah, Davis, Kelly C., Mkandawire-Valhmu, Lucy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.07.2023
• Subjects: African American women; Healthcare; Nursing; Re-traumatization; Secondary victimization; Sexual assault; Survivors; Secondary victimization; Nursing; Survivors; Healthcare; Re-traumatization; Sexual assault; African American women
• ISSN: 0277-9536; 1873-5347
• DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116029

Despite calls recognizing the need for culturally sensitive responses to minimize the occurrence of secondary victimization for African American women following an experience of sexual assault, few studies have focused on hearing from African American women survivors about their experiences receiving healthcare services in a hospital setting following sexual assault. Employing critical ethnography as our methodology and using intersectionality theory as a lens, we centered the voices of African American women survivors about their experiences receiving nursing care in urban acute care or hospital settings in the Upper Midwest of the United States following sexual assault. In this qualitative study, 30 African American women survivors were interviewed using in-depth, semi-structured interviews about their post-sexual assault care. Interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. An important theme identified focused on survivors’ experiences of dehumanization when receiving healthcare services following sexual assault. These experiences included: discrediting, dismissing, shaming, and blaming. To mitigate and prevent secondary victimization in the future, we present practice and education change recommendations for nurses, and healthcare providers more broadly, based on the voices of African American female survivors of sexual assault. •Examines a unique type of secondary victimization caused by nurses and healthcare providers.•Calls for nurses to understand socio-historical context of patients to safely respond.•Preventing secondary victimization requires tailored nursing and healthcare responses.•Urgently calls for preventing dehumanizing interactions from healthcare providers broadly.•Anti-oppressive practices need to be interwoven throughout healthcare education curriculum.