"I'm not going to do it alone": A qualitative study of barriers to sexual assault service-seeking among college students

Objective: To understand barriers to seeking post-sexual assault services for students of color and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ+) students. Methods: Qualitative interviews about campus and community resources for sexual and relationship violence were conducted with 29 undergraduate and graduate students who held diverse sexual, gender, and racial identities (n = 15 disclosed violence-related service-seeking). Results: Organized within trauma-informed care pillars, thematic coding revealed aspects of campus environment/culture that prevent students from accessing support including challenges identifying experiences as violence; limited cultural and identity-affirming care; limited clarity about resources; confidentiality concerns; difficulty accessing resources; and navigating resources alone. Suggestions to address concerns included regular prevention training; better coordinated care and systems with increased accountability, increased survivor support and peer support, and heightened transparency on websites/trainings about processes and confidentiality. Conclusions: Findings suggest promising avenues to improve support, particularly for minoritized survivors of violence, at this campus.