There are many paths of healing: Narratives and themes from Black, Indigenous, and Women of Color sexual violence and assault survivors

Sexual violence impacts someone every 68 seconds in the United States (RAINN, n.d.). Statistics highlight the frequency yet still underestimate the true scope and impact of the issue. Women are disproportionately impacted by sexual violence, thus situating sexual violence as social issue where the intersection of social identities and forces of oppression create and shape vulnerability to trauma (Bubar and Weaver, 2024). Black, Indigenous, and Women of Color are largely underrepresented in existing sexual violence research (Harris et al., 2021; Karunaratne, 2024; Karunaratne and Harris, 2022; Low and Organista, 2000; Tate, 2019; Tsong and Ulman, 2018). Social and contextual factors can influence how survivors respond to, make sense of, and ascribe meaning to their experience(s) sexual trauma (Bucholz et al., 2020; Campbell et al., 2009; Goodman, 2015; Walensky et al., 2022). Critical narrative inquiry was used to center the narratives of Black, Indigenous, and Women of Color; attend to sociocultural influences on personal healing; and expand conceptualization of personal healing beyond trauma symptom reduction (RAINN, n.d.; Walensky et al., 2022). Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA) was used to glean two themes: (1) Healing as a Journey and Process, and (2) Survivor-to-Survivor: Advice and Insights. This study yielded rich insights into the process of personally healing from experience(s) of sexual trauma, and broad implications for healthcare professionals at all professional stages of training and development.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Counselor Education

Department dc:contributor.department

Education, Community College

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Melendez, Eva

Chairs dc:contributor.committeechair

• Welfare, Laura Everhart
• Grimes, Tameka O.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Austin, Jude
• Collins, Joanna
• Ovink, Sarah
• Locklear, Harley Devon

• Black
• Indigenous
• Women of Color
• Healing
• Sexual violence
• Sexual Assault

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:45639

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/141134