The impact of Covid-19 on recovery after sexual violence and abuse

We examined the impact of Covid-19 on service delivery within specialist sexual violence services and the healing journeys of survivors of sexual violence and abuse through the experiences of 22 professionals and 221 service users in England. The pandemic posed challenges across all sectors and economies across the globe, but practices and innovations that emerged at that time could enhance future services and user experiences. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes within the data. Overall, the negative impacts of Covid-19 outweighed the positive changes: survivors reported increased feelings of depression, anxiety, and worry, exacerbated by isolation and lost connections with friends and family, and access to strategies for managing their mental health. Difficulties/delays in accessing support, service provision, and disruptions to rapport, trust, and safety were widespread in participants’ reports. Conversely, for some, requirements to remain at home provided safety from the world, and space for healing, and even prompted survivors of non-recent abuse to seek help. Remote service delivery was beneficial where clients could be ‘at a distance’ in discussing sensitive issues. Together with insights from professionals about their own isolation, blurred boundaries, and concerns regarding client confidentiality and engagement, this research highlights an agile sector responding to an unprecedented situation. Moving forward, survivors’ preferences for flexible/remote support must be integrated into everyday delivery

2019-20 coronavirus outbreak · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Criminology · Injury prevention · Medical emergency · Occupational safety and health · Pandemic · Poison control · Psychiatry · Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 · Sexual abuse · Sexual assault · Sexual violence · Suicide prevention · Clinical Psychology · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Human Factors and Ergonomics · Intimate Partner and Family Violence · Medicine · Psychology · Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies · Virology

• Redefining boundaries, guilt, and success

  Open Access•Marian Duggan, Camille Stengel et al.•International Review of Victimology•2026

  Incluir item

• Remote and Hybrid Work in Crime Victim Services

  Open Access•Lane Kirkland Gillespie, Tara N Richards et al.•Trauma Violence & Abuse•2025

  Incluir item

• Why the Covid-19 pandemic is a traumatic stressor

  Open Access•Victoria M E Bridgland, Ella K Moeck et al.•PLoS ONE•2021

  Incluir item

• Danger in danger

  Open Access•Marianna Mazza, Giuseppe Marano et al.•Psychiatry Research•2020

  Incluir item

• The psychological impact of rape victims.

  Rebecca Campbell•American Psychologist•2008

  Incluir item

• Thematic Analysis

  G Terry, Nikki Hayfield et al.•The Sage Handbook of Qualitative…•2017

  Incluir item

• Successful Qualitative Research

  John Jamieson, Braun et al.•QMiP Bulletin•2014

  Incluir item

• Domestic Violence During the Covid-19 Pandemic

  Open Access•Anastasia Kourti, Androniki Stavridou et al.•Trauma Violence & Abuse•2023

  Incluir item

• The Impacts of Working With Victims of Sexual Violence

  Open Access•Ioana Crivatu, Miranda A H Horvath et al.•Trauma Violence & Abuse•2023

  Incluir item

• Sexual violence and Covid-19

  Clare Gunby, Louise Isham et al.•Journal of Gender-Based Violence•2020

  Incluir item

• A social ecological approach to understanding service utilization barriers among male survivors of sexual violence in three refugee settings

  Open Access•Sarah K Chynoweth, Dale Buscher et al.•Conflict and Health•2020

  Incluir item

• Different uses of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory in public mental health research

  Open Access•M Eriksson, Mehdi Ghazinour et al.•Social Theory & Health•2018

  Incluir item

• The Rapid Uptake of Digital Technologies at Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Organizations During the Covid-19 Pandemic

  Open Access•Heather L Storer, Eva X Nyerges•Violence Against Women•2022

  Incluir item

• Navigating uncertainty, employment and women’s safety during Covid‐19

  Open Access•Margaret Janse Van Rensburg, Holly Smith•Gender Work and Organization•2020

  Incluir item

• Social Reactions to Sexual Assault Disclosure, Coping, Perceived Control, and PTSD Symptoms in Sexual Assault Victims

  Open Access•Sarah E Ullman, Liana Peter‐Hagene et al.•Journal of Community Psychology•2014

  Incluir item

• Social Ecological Approaches to Individuals and Their Contexts

  Open Access•Shelley D Golden, Jo Anne L Earp et al.•Health Education & Behavior•2012

  Incluir item