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Recent research demonstrates that a distressing number of individuals who disclose experiences of sexual violence to various helping professionals encounter secondary wounding – responses that blame, shame, or further harm the individual seeking support.
This webinar provides an introduction to the concept of secondary wounding as it applies to working with individuals who have experienced sexual violence.
The webinar will describe different types of secondary wounding, the prevalence of secondary wounding, and the possible impacts of secondary wounding on victims of sexual violence.
Drawing on the experiences of the Fredericton Sexual Assault Centre, this webinar will identify common examples of secondary wounding, and it will describe strategies social workers can employ to respond to these experiences.
The main focus of the webinar will be on providing concrete strategies and tools social workers can use to avoid contributing to secondary wounding and to support clients who may be struggling with the impacts associated with secondary wounding.
Presenter Biography:
Dr. Erin Whitmore is the Coordinator of Research & Program Evaluation at the Fredericton Sexual Assault Centre. Erin has contributed to multiple community-based research projects examining the help-seeking experiences of victims of sexual violence in New Brunswick.
She has a PhD in English from the University of New Brunswick, and she is currently completing her MSW at Dalhousie University. Her current research explores how women think about the possibilities their lives hold and the way experiences of sexual violence shape those possibilities.