Intimate partner sexual violence: seeking support from the counselors perspective

Intimno partnersko seksualno nasilje (IPSN) neistraženi je i često previđeni oblik nasilja nad ženama unutar partnerskih odnosa i nasilja u obitelji. Cilj ovog rada bio je dobiti uvid u proces traženja podrške žrtava IPSN-a iz perspektive savjetovatelja. Provedeno je kvalitativno istraživanje na prigodnom uzorku savjetovateljica zaposlenih u feminističkim nevladinim organizacijama koje se bave nasiljem nad ženama. Podaci su prikupljeni primjenom polustrukturiranih intervjua i obrađeni metodom tematske analize te ukazuju da većina korisnica u savjetovalištu nije svjesna proživljenog IPSN-a te da IPSN identificiraju rjeđe samostalno, a češće ga osvještavaju u procesu savjetovanja. Sve veća prisutnost teme IPSN-a u medijima, postojanje organizacija i podrška bližnjih pozitivni su čimbenici za odluku o traženju podrške, a negativni su strah od reakcije okoline, briga za privatnost, osjećaji vezani za iskustvo IPSN-a, strah od počinitelja, nepovjerenje u institucije te percipirana nemogućnost dobivanja adekvatne podrške. Izazovi s kojima se žrtve IPSN-a prilikom traženja podrške suočavaju su negativne reakcije obitelji i bližnjih, nedostupnost usluga, nesenzibiliziranost stručnjaka te retraumatizacija u sudskim postupcima, a najčešći izvori podrške na koji se oslanjaju su prijateljice, rjeđe obitelj te nevladine organizacije. Zaključno, savjetovateljice iznose preporuke za razvoj sustava podrške za žrtve IPSN-a: edukacija i senzibilizacija javnosti o IPSN-u, ulaganje u stručni kadar te osnaživanje mreže usluga.Intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV) is an unexplored and often overlooked form of violence against women within partnerships and domestic violence. The aim of this paper was to gain insight into the process of seeking the support of IPSV victims from the perspective of counselors. A qualitative survey was conducted on a convenient sample of counselors employed by feminist NGOs dealing with violence against women. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and processed by the method of thematic analysis and indicate that most users in counseling are not aware of the experienced IPSV and that they identify IPSV less often independently, and more often become aware of it in the counseling process. The growing presence of IPSN in the media, the existence of organizations and the support of loved ones are positive factors for the decision to seek support, and negative are fear of society’s reaction, concern for privacy, feelings about the IPSV experience, fear of perpetrator, distrust of institutions and perceived inability to obtain adequate support. The challenges that IPSV victims face when seeking support are negative reactions from family and friends, unavailability of services, insensitivity of professionals and retraumatization in court proceedings, and the most common sources of support are friends, less family and NGOs. In conclusion, the counselors make recommendations for the development of a support system for IPSV victims: educating and sensitizing the public about IPSV, investing in professional staff and strengthening the service network