The Ripple Effects of Sexual Violence 9-28-2009

3 Hours of Continuing Education credit is offered for; LCSW, LMFT, LMHC

Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling - CE Provider # 50-462 expires 3/31/2011

All participants receive a certificate of completion.

Description:

Experiencing the sexual assault of a loved one undoubtedly has an impact on informal support systems such as family and friends. This interactive workshop will focus on the impact of sexual violence on survivors, their friends, and family. Through interactive discussions, participants will learn how to help survivors and their friends and family as they struggle to cope with the aftermath of sexual assault.

Participants will also have an opportunity to be part of a short focus group meeting to discuss the use of a secondary trauma scale with friends of survivors. The presenters would like feedback on practitioners' thoughts on using the scale.

At the conclusion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Define sexual violence
• Describe secondary effects of sexual violence 
• Evaluate what works well for secondary victims of sexual assault
• Identify ways to support primary and secondary victims of sexual violence

Presenters:

Kathryn A. Branch, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Tampa. Her current research focuses on the impact of sexual assault on friends of survivors. Previous research has focused on the role of social support in women's use of aggression against an intimate partner. Dr. Branch gas collaborated with a diverse group of local agencies and organizations, including the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, the Tampa Police Department, the Florida Mental Health Institute and Moffitt Cancer Center.

Tara N. Richards, M.S., is a doctoral student in the department of Criminology at the University of South Florida. She is the former research assistant to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's Women's Center where her responsibilities included on-campus awareness, education, and advocacy for sexual violence prevention. Her current research focuses on the impact of rape and sexual assault on secondary victims such as friends and family of survivors. Tara is especially interested in the ways in which sexual violence effects college populations and campus communities.