By Pamayla Darbyshire, APRN
Teal is nationally recognized as the color for Sexual Assault Awareness and Support for Survivors.
By wearing teal, you are signaling that you support survivors.
You are a safe person to talk to if someone reaches out in need.
Our role as a case manager for sexual assault survivors is one of sensitivity. Once a person reaches out to us, we should consider a safe place to conduct or offer empathetic or therapeutic conversations. Empathic communication involves actively listening and observing nonverbal cues from the individual, trying to understand the other person's perspective, and acknowledging their emotions. It is about connecting on a deeper level and sharing their experience. Empathic communication involves actively listening, trying to understand the other person's perspective, and acknowledging their emotions (Hiroyama et al., 2025). Validation of the experiences of these individuals is important in establishing trust and marking the beginning of the healing process. It is about connecting on a deeper level and sharing their experience.
A therapeutic conversation is a purposeful dialogue aimed at understanding and addressing a person's physical, emotional, or psychological well-being. It involves techniques to establish trust and facilitate emotional expression, a process that helps promote a positive response to an adverse event.
A CM role involves more than the initial interaction with individuals. There are SANE case managers (sexual assault nurse examiners) who have gone through extensive training and certification for forensic evidence collection and therapeutic interactions. Many professionals may be unaware of the processes involved in preserving the chain of evidence. Educational webinars for professionals are offered online by SANE nurses or social workers certified in forensic evidence for SA. A case manager may be called upon to help individuals (male, female, adults, children, older folks) deal with the initial trauma and guide them to definitive care for physical and mental recovery.
Case managers' involvement does not end with evidence gathering; there are steps to walk the survivors through as they process the aftereffects of their trauma: putting them in touch with community resources that offer counseling, safe havens for victims and children or pets, and a means of protection from further violence. Realizing the events will contribute (in most cases) to PTSD, care is needed in processing the immediate traumatic aftermath. In listening to the events, believe them as told by the survivors; let them know they are not at fault for the violence.
The aftereffects of SA are an interplay of emotional/psychological trauma, physical trauma, and economic effects. Economically, those who have experienced this trauma may now face difficulty earning a living.
Support areas available for SA individuals may include emotional/mental health counseling (either one-on-one or focus groups); legal (work with law enforcement); victim advocacy; university campus, HS campus (or any educational campus where assault may have occurred); housing; medical support; safety planning; client consultation (family members) (Campbell, 2024).
Challenges (that a CM may encounter) (Bromley et al., 2024; Howe & Dworkin, 2024).
Survivors may need help with or experience:
Continued emotional and physical distress/recovery, PTSD, anxiety, depression, stigma, guilt, fear;
Assistance with legal and healthcare issues;
Access to economic resources;
Potential re-traumatization of survivors by family, friends, co-workers, and
well-meaning individuals curious about what happened (all the details) (Wieberneit et al., 2024);
Long-term support for survivors:
Are community resources available?
Will insurance cover counseling?
Lack of consistency in continued care for the survivors:
Will the same person be the one that follows through with care? Coordinating and communicating between inter-agencies involved (law enforcement, legal prosecution, hospital care, social services).
Conclusion
Support at work and in the personal life of a CM increases coping strategies. Supporting clients who have experienced trauma can lead to trauma symptoms in those professionals who provide care. Workers in the sexual violence field are at heightened risk of developing or experiencing disrupted social relationships, behavioral changes, and emotional and psychological distress. Focusing on personal well-being, space to accept what has been seen or heard, or counseling may be ways of coping and dealing with the aftereffects of caring for the survivors. It is imperative for professionals to have a means of destressing after caring for survivors. Critical incident stress debriefing is for the immediate aftermath for both professionals and survivors. A broader term is CISM (critical incident stress management) that integrates special programs and strategies (pre-incident education, significant other support programs, community outreach programs, disaster preparedness and assistance, etc.) in their educational webinars and services for local communities. These forms of immediate education are offered at work, churches, organizations, and shelters. Maintaining a healthy emotional and physical lifestyle balance is extremely important. As CMs, we must look to ourselves and maintain a healthy holistic approach in collaborating with people who require our expertise.
What is Sexual Assault?
In the United States, the definition of sexual assault varies widely among the individual states. However, in most states sexual assault occurs when there is a lack of consent from one of the individuals involved. Consent must take place between the individuals, who are not incapacitated, and consent may change, by being withdrawn, at any time during the sexual act (RAINN, 2025).
Incapacitated is defined as a state where a person is unable to give informed consent due to a lack of awareness or ability to make rational decisions. Examples include being asleep, unconscious, under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or having a mental or physical condition that impairs their capacity to understand and consent (RAINN, 2025).
Definitions of Sexual Assault (SA):
is any invasion of unwanted mental, psychological, or physical intrusion into an individual's personal space (https://rainn.org/resources).
is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will.
is a form of sexual violence that includes child sexual abuse, groping, rape (forced sexual penetration, no matter how slight), drug-facilitated sexual assault, and the torture of the person in a sexual manner.
Resources
- RAINN is the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline. https://rainn.org/resources
- Crisis Support Service
- National Helpline for Male Survivors
- National Street Harassment Hotline
- DoD Safe Helpline: a service for members of the U.S. military and their families, operated by RAINN for the Department of Defense
Telephone hotline: 877.995.5247
3. NSVRC (National Sexual Violence Resource Center) https://www.nsvrc.org/
NSVRC provides research & tools to advocates working on the frontlines to end sexual harassment, assault, and abuse with the understanding that ending sexual violence also means ending racism, sexism, and all forms of oppression.
- End Rape on Campus https://endrapeoncampus.org/survivor-resources/
Campus health services may be the first to interact with survivors.
References
Bromley, H., Davis, S. K., Morgan, B., & Taylor-Dunn, H. (2024). The professional quality of life of domestic and sexual violence advocates: A systematic review of possible risk and protective factors. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 25(2), 1113-1128. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380231171187
Campbell, R. (2024). Systems-centered care versus survivor-centered care: Reimagining help and healing for sexual assault survivors. Psychology of Violence, 14(6), 379-385. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000528
Hiroyama, N., Ogata, Y., Sasaki, M., Misumi, J., Matsuzaki, M., Ikeda, M., & Okubo, N. (2025). Association between mental health and professional quality of life among advocates for victims of sexual assault: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health, 25(949). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-22115-6
Howe, E. S., & Dworkin, E. R. (2024). The day-to-day relationship between posttraumatic stress symptoms and social support after sexual assault. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 15(1), 2311478. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008066.2024.2311478
RAINN. (2025). National Sexual Assault Hotline. https://rainn.org/resources
Wieberneit, M., Thal, S., Clare, J., Notebaert, L., & Tubex, H. (2024). Silenced survivors: A systematic review of the barriers to reporting, investigating, prosecuting, and sentencing of adult female rape and sexual assault. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 0(0), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380241261404
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Bio: Dr. Darbyshirehas over 40 years’ experience in nursing and has had extensive experience in Med/Surg, Critical Care, the Operating Room, and has precepted in all areas. She is a fellow with the Center for Educational and Instructional Technology Research (CEITR) (UoPx). She is a Case Management Society of America (CSMA) member and has a pivotal role in the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) core committee, tasked with developing the DEIB committee's mission, vision, and official statement for the society. Dr. Darbyshire's commitment to the academic community is evident in her role as a mentor for College of Doctoral Studies students (UoPx). Her research focus is case management and chronic diseases, and she has presented at virtual conferences with an international audience.