Abstract：
Experiencing sexual violence may have serious long-term consequences for victims. Seeking help may decrease the chances of developing long-term physical and psychosocial problems. Still not every victim seeks help, and especially with victimization of sexual violence, there may be several reasons as to why. The barriers to help-seeking are diverse and may depend on several contextual factors. This study, as part of a larger research project, aimed to determine the barriers that victims of sexual violence experience in their decision to seek help in a non-college setting. This mixed-methods study included an online survey (N = 133) and open-ended survey (N = 207) amongst victims of 18 years and older. The online survey data were analyzed using chi-square tests for independence and t-tests; the open-ended survey data were analyzed using a descriptive approach. The online survey data showed that minimization of the incident was higher for non-help-seekers, whilst distrust toward support providers and issues with the accessibility of help were higher for help-seekers. No further significant associations were found between the decision to seek help and the barriers to help-seeking. From the open-ended survey data, three categories of barriers were distinguished: (a) individual barriers, such as feelings of shame, (b) interpersonal barriers, such as the fear of negative social reactions and (c) sociocultural barriers, such as societal stereotypes regarding sexual violence. The findings suggest that victims experience various, but primarily individual, barriers to help-seeking and that these barriers do not strongly differ between help-seekers and non-help-seekers. This study highlights the importance of addressing barriers to help-seeking on an organizational and societal level to encourage help-seeking.
摘要：
遭受性暴力可能会给受害者带来严重的长期后果。寻求帮助可能会减少发展长期身体和心理问题的机会。仍然不是每个受害者都寻求帮助，尤其是性暴力的受害者，可能有几个原因。寻求帮助的障碍是多种多样的，可能取决于几个环境因素。这项研究,作为一个更大的研究项目的一部分，旨在确定性暴力受害者在非大学环境中寻求帮助的决定所经历的障碍。这项混合方法研究包括对18岁及以上受害者的在线调查（N=133）和开放式调查（N=207）。在线调查数据采用卡方检验进行独立性和t检验；开放式调查数据采用描述性方法进行分析。在线调查数据显示，非求助者的事件最小化程度更高，而对于寻求帮助的人来说，对支持提供者的不信任和获得帮助的问题更高。在寻求帮助的决定与寻求帮助的障碍之间没有发现进一步的重大关联。从开放式调查数据来看，区分了三类障碍：(A)个人障碍，比如羞耻感，(b)人际障碍，例如对负面社会反应的恐惧和(C)社会文化障碍，例如关于性暴力的社会刻板印象。研究结果表明，受害者经历了各种各样的，但主要是个人，寻求帮助的障碍，这些障碍在寻求帮助的人和非寻求帮助的人之间没有很大的区别。这项研究强调了在组织和社会层面解决寻求帮助障碍以鼓励寻求帮助的重要性。
