Abstract
Although research has found that sexual violence is a serious issue on college campuses, the lack of diversity in previous samples calls into question the findings’ generalizability to non-White populations. Consequently, little is known about how Students of Color conceptualize sexual violence. Using an intersectional and phenomenological approach, we examined how Black/African American university women understand sexual violence, as well as their perceptions of cultural barriers to help-seeking and reporting this violence. Seven themes emerged: (a) Historical Legacy of Racialized Trauma Against Black Women, (b) Stereotypes of Hypersexualized Black Women, (c) Silence and Community Protection, (d) Duality of Black Spirituality and/or Religiosity, (e) Racial Injustice and Systemic Barriers to Help-Seeking and Reporting, (f) Stereotypes of Strong Black Women, and (g) Grassroots Healing and Empowerment of Black Communities. We provide recommendations for counselors and university staff to develop culturally grounded campus prevention initiatives for Black women.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 873-908 |
| Number of pages | 36 |
| Journal | Counseling Psychologist |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 1 2019 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Zounlome Nelson O. O. 1 Wong Y. Joel 1 Klann Elyssa M. 1 David Jessica L. 1 Stephens Nat J. 2 1 Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, USA 2 Syneos Health, Morrisville, NC, USA Nelson O. O. Zounlome, Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology, Indiana University Bloomington, 201 N. Rose Ave., Bloomington, IN 47405, USA. Email: nzounlom@indiana.edu 8 2019 47 6 873 908 © The Author(s) 2019 2019 Division of Counseling Psychology of the American Psychological Association Although research has found that sexual violence is a serious issue on college campuses, the lack of diversity in previous samples calls into question the findings’ generalizability to non-White populations. Consequently, little is known about how Students of Color conceptualize sexual violence. Using an intersectional and phenomenological approach, we examined how Black/African American university women understand sexual violence, as well as their perceptions of cultural barriers to help-seeking and reporting this violence. Seven themes emerged: (a) Historical Legacy of Racialized Trauma Against Black Women, (b) Stereotypes of Hypersexualized Black Women, (c) Silence and Community Protection, (d) Duality of Black Spirituality and/or Religiosity, (e) Racial Injustice and Systemic Barriers to Help-Seeking and Reporting, (f) Stereotypes of Strong Black Women, and (g) Grassroots Healing and Empowerment of Black Communities. We provide recommendations for counselors and university staff to develop culturally grounded campus prevention initiatives for Black women. sexual violence Black/African American women intersectionality phenomenology typesetter ts1 Declaration of Conflicting Interests The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Funding The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The writing of this article was supported by a Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship provided by the Ford Foundation and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to the first author.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2019.
Keywords
- Black/African American women
- intersectionality
- phenomenology
- sexual violence
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Applied Psychology
