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“Who could help me? There was nothing. I brought it on myself”: A qualitative study exploring UK university student experiences of sexual violence

Higson-Sweeney, Nina; Meyrick, Jane

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Authors

Nina Higson-Sweeney



Abstract

Research suggests that university students are disproportionately affected by sexual violence and that most incidents remain unreported. Little qualitative research has been conducted to explore this further in the context of the UK. The current study used qualitative semi-structured interviews to explore the lived experiences of 11 university students currently studying at UK institutions, with data analysed used reflexive thematic analysis. Three key themes were generated, which collectively narrate the decision-making progress students navigate after experiencing sexual violence:(1) Making sense of sexual violence; (2) Barriers to disclosure; and (3) Navigating support. Three key take-home messages are outlined.

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Feb 1, 2022
Publication Date Jun 8, 2022
Deposit Date Mar 17, 2021
Publicly Available Date Jul 9, 2022
Journal PsyPAG Quarterly
Print ISSN 1746-6016
Publisher The British Psychological Society
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 122
Pages 8-16
DOI https://doi.org/10.53841/bpspag.2022.1.122.8
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/7211770
Publisher URL https://explore.bps.org.uk/content/bpspag/1/122/8
Related Public URLs https://researchportal.bath.ac.uk/en/publications/who-could-help-me-there-was-nothing-i-brought-it-on-myself-a-qual

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“Who could help me? There was nothing. I brought it on myself”: A qualitative study exploring UK university student experiences of sexual violence (475 Kb)
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Copyright Statement
This is a pre-publication version of the following article: ‘Higson-Sweeney, N., & Meyrick, J. (2022). “Who could help me? There was nothing. I brought it on myself”: A qualitative study exploring UK university student experiences of sexual violence. PsyPAG Quarterly, 122, 8-16’. DOI: https://doi.org/10.53841/bpspag.2022.1.122.8+

The final published version is available here: https://explore.bps.org.uk/content/bpspag/1/122/8


“Who could help me? There was nothing. I brought it on myself”: A qualitative study exploring UK university student experiences of sexual violence (277 Kb)
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Licence
http://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved

Publisher Licence URL
http://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved

Copyright Statement
This is a pre-publication version of the following article: ‘Higson-Sweeney, N., & Meyrick, J. (2022). “Who could help me? There was nothing. I brought it on myself”: A qualitative study exploring UK university student experiences of sexual violence. PsyPAG Quarterly, 122, 8-16’. DOI: https://doi.org/10.53841/bpspag.2022.1.122.8+

The final published version is available here: https://explore.bps.org.uk/content/bpspag/1/122/8





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