Call for Submissions   Institutional Responses to Sexual Trauma A Special Issue of the Journal of Trauma & Dissociation Special Issue Guest Editors: Kathryn Holland, M.S. & Melissa Barnes, M.S. Deadline for Submissions: December 1, 2017 Email for guest editors: jtd.institutionalresponse@gmail.com

Scholars in the field of sexual trauma research have demonstrated the important role of institutional responses. For example, responses from the criminal justice system, medical system, mental health system, military, and educational institutions can have a significant effect on survivors’ wellbeing (e.g., Campbell, 2008; Freyd & Birrell, 2013; Monteith, Bahraini, Matarazzo, Soberay & Smith, 2016; Smith & Freyd, 2014; Smith, Gomez, & Freyd, 2014). Collectively, this work illustrates that while some survivors receive positive, victim-centered care when accessing support from these institutions, many others experience treatment that is deleterious and re-traumatizing (e.g., doubt, blame, inaction).

However, there is still much to learn about institutional responses to sexual trauma. The goal of this special issue of the Journal of Trauma & Dissociation (JTD) is to advance our understanding of how institutions (particularly under-studied institutions) respond to sexual trauma, illustrate the effect of institutional responses on survivors’ wellbeing, and advocate for better, empirically informed institutional responses to sexual trauma. This issue will include institutional responses to a spectrum of sexual trauma: rape, sexual assault, sexual coercion (including consensual unwanted sexual contact), sexual harassment, intimate partner violence, and/or reproductive coercion.

We are inviting papers that provide new scientific, clinical, or theoretical findings, as well as literature reviews and meta-analyses. Potential topics of interest include (but are not limited to):

• The effects and effectiveness of institutional responses to sexual trauma (e.g., policies, practices, efforts to educate and train those who assist survivors) in a wide variety of institutions, such as:
• Higher education
• Primary and secondary education
• U.S. military
• Religious institutions
• Workplaces
• Victim advocacy centers and programs
• Healthcare system
• Criminal justice system
• Mental health system
• Government
• The response to sexual trauma, and its effect on survivors, from smaller institutions embedded within larger institutions; for instance, within higher education: STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), Greek-life organizations (fraternities, sororities), and athletic departments
• The effect of larger, cultural or political institutions on survivors of sexual trauma; for instance, the 2016 election and administration transition
• The effects of institutional responses and/or institutional betrayal on a range of outcomes for survivors of sexual trauma: mental health, physical health, sexual health, relational wellbeing, academic and/or occupational success

All manuscripts will be peer-reviewed. See the Journal of Trauma and Dissociation website for more information about the journal and submission requirements (including a submission checklist): http://dynamic.uoregon.edu/jjf/jtd/

Complete submissions will be accepted for consideration until December 1, 2017.
Manuscripts should be submitted via email to the special issue editors at: jtd.institutionalresponse@gmail.com

We welcome your questions and correspondence prior to submission. Interested authors can submit abstracts for feedback regarding the appropriateness of their proposals for this issue (jtd.institutionalresponse@gmail.com)

If you are interested in serving as a peer reviewer for this special issue, please contact the special issue editors via email (jtd.institutionalresponse@gmail.com)

References

• Campbell, R. (2008). The psychological impact of rape victims’ experiences with the legal, medical, and mental health systems. American Psychologist, 63, 702-717.
• Freyd, J.J. & Birrell, P.J. (2013). Blind to Betrayal. John Wiley & Sons.
• Monteith, L. L., Bahraini, N. H., Matarazzo, B. B., Soberay, K. A., & Smith, C. P. (2016). Perceptions of Institutional Betrayal Predict Suicidal Self‐Directed Violence Among Veterans Exposed to Military Sexual Trauma. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 72(7), 743-755.
• Smith, C. P. & Freyd, J. J. (2014). Institutional betrayal. American Psychologist, 69, 575-587.
• Smith, C. P., Gomez, J. M., & Freyd, J. J. (2014). The psychology of judicial betrayal. Roger Williams University Law Review, 19, 451-475.

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