Dr. Jessica Shaw joined the Community and Applied Developmental Psychology faculty at UIC in August of 2019. Publications showcased here include work led by Dr. Shaw prior to and since joining UIC, as well as work in which Dr. Shaw played more of a supporting role. Publications focus on the criminal legal and medical system responses to sexual assault; unsubmitted sexual assault kits; the importance of systems-based approaches to research and action; advancing community psychology training and practice; bridging the gap between research, policy, and practice; advanced research methods; and evaluation.
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Our Areas of Focus:
Criminal Legal System
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MANDATORY REPORTING AND ADOLESCENT SEXUAL ASSAULT
“Adolescents experience alarmingly high rates of sexual violence, higher than any other age-group. This is concerning as sexual violence can have detrimental effects on teens’ personal and relational well-being, causing long-term consequences for the survivor. Still, adolescents are hesitant to report the assault or seek out services and resources. When an adolescent survivor does seek out services, they may interact with a provider who is a mandatory reporter. This scoping review sought to synthesize the current U.S.-based research on the role, challenges, and impact of mandatory reporting (MR) in the context of adolescent sexual assault. Database searches using key words related to MR, sexual assault, and adolescence identified 29 peer-reviewed articles. However, none of these articles reported on empirical investigations of the phenomenon of interest and instead consisted of case studies, commentaries, and position papers. The scoping review was expanded to provide a lay of the land of what we know about the intersection of adolescent sexual assault and MR. Results of the review indicate that though implemented broadly, MR policies vary between individuals, organizations, and states and have historically been challenging to implement due to this variation, conflicts with other laws, tension between these policies and providers’ values, and other factors. Based on the available literature, the impact of MR in the context of adolescent sexual assault is unknown. There is a critical need for research and evaluation on the implementation and impact of MR policies, especially in the context of adolescents and sexual violence.”
Bailey, C., Shaw, J., & Harris, A. (2021). Mandatory reporting and adolescent sexual assault. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 24(2), 454–467.
“This special issue of The American Journal of Community Psychology originated from the Society for Community Research and Action Criminal Justice interest group, with a goal of exploring the work of community psychologists intersecting with criminal justice research, practice, and policy and shaped by our shared values— equity, collaboration, creative maladjustment, social justice, and social science in the service of social justice. In this introduction, we discuss the socio-historical context of the special issue, followed by an outline of the special issue organization, and brief summary of the included papers. Across 13 papers and an invited commentary, we see the ways in which community psychologists are: (1) delivering and evaluating services, programming, or other supports to address the needs of system-involved people; and (2) working to improve the systems, structures, and interactions with units of criminal justice systems. Across these two sections, authors highlight the guiding role of our values to influence change within and outside of criminal-legal systems.”
Shaw, J., Rade, C. B., Fisher, B. W., Freund, N., & Tompsett, C. J. (2021). Criminal Justice and Community Psychology: Our Values and Our Work—The Introduction to the Special Issue. American Journal of Community Psychology, 67(1-2), 3-6.
“In jurisdictions throughout the United States, thousands of sexual assault kits (SAKs; also known as a “rape kits”) have not been submitted by the police for forensic DNA testing. DNA evidence may be helpful to sexual assault investigations and prosecutions by identifying perpetrators, revealing serial offenders through DNA matches across cases, and exonerating those who have been wrongly accused. This paper describes a longitudinal action research project conducted in Detroit, Michigan after that city discovered approximately 11,000 untested sexual assault kits in a police department storage facility. We conducted a root cause analysis to examine individual, organizational, community, and societal factors that contributed to the development of the rape kit backlog in Detroit. Based on those findings, we implemented and evaluated structural changes to increase staffing, promote kit testing, and retrain police and prosecutors so that cases could be reopened for investigation and prosecution. As we conducted this work, we also studied how this action research project impacted the Detroit criminal justice system. Participating in this project changed stakeholders’ attitudes about the utility of research to address community problems, the usefulness of DNA evidence in sexual assault cases, and the impact of trauma on survivors. The results led to new protocols for SAK testing and police investigations, and new state legislation mandating SAK forensic DNA testing.”
Campbell, R., Fehler‐Cabral, G., Pierce, S. J., Sharma, D. B., Shaw, J., Horsford, S., & Feeney, H. (2020). Changing the criminal justice system response to sexual assault: an empirical study of a participatory action research project. American Journal of Community Psychology, 67(1-2), 166-178.
HIGH RATES OF SEXUAL ASSAULT KIT SUBMISSION AND THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF PLACE
“Purpose: Stockpiles of unsubmitted sexual assault kits have been documented in jurisdictions across the country. The present study examines the rate and predictors of sexual assault kit submission across one entire state while accounting for potential variation between cities. Methods: We obtained data (final n = 4,204) relating to all sexual assault kits completed in Massachusetts between 2011 and 2015 from a state safety agency and all crime laboratories in the state. We employed logistic mixed modeling to account for the nested nature of the data, with sexual assault kits corresponding to assaults that took place in different cities. Models included city in which the assault occurred (level 2) as well as victim, assault, and case characteristics (level 1). Results: Ninety percent of the kits included in the sample were submitted to the crime lab for analysis. Few victim and assault characteristics predicted kit submission. The city in which the assault occurred was associated with substantial variation in the likelihood of kit submission, accounting for 43% of the variation in the dependent variable. Conclusions: Findings suggest that state and organizational culture, policy, and practice substantially contribute to sexual assault kit handling; further research is required to identify these key factors.”
Shaw, J., Coates, V., & Janulis, P. (2020). High rates of sexual assault kit submission and the important role of place. Journal of Criminal Justice, 67, 101671.
RACE AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM RESPONSE TO SEXUAL ASSAULT: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
“Prior research has consistently documented that the vast majority of sexual assault cases do not progress through the criminal justice system. However, there is less agreement in prior work on how race influences case progression, resulting in a literature frequently described as “inconsistent.” This systematic review examines all prior research that has included race as an independent variable in predicting the criminal justice system response to sexual assault (N = 34) in an effort to provide insight into seemingly disparate findings. We assess each study for the degree to which race was a focal point of interest, if and what theory was used to inform the investigation of race, how samples were drawn, and how and whose race was measured. Results illustrate that findings in prior research are not inconsistent, but rather unite to tell a nuanced story of the role of race in the criminal justice system response to sexual assault. The review demonstrates how decisions made by researchers throughout the research process can have significant impacts on reported findings, and how such findings may be used to influence policy and practice.”
Shaw, J., & Lee, H. (2019). Race and the criminal justice system response to sexual assault: A systematic review. American Journal of Community Psychology, 64(1-2), 255-276.
“Throughout the United States, hundreds of thousands of sexual assault kits (SAKs) have not been submitted by the police for forensic DNA testing, which raises complex issues regarding how victims ought to be notified about what happened to their kits. In this project, we evaluated a victim-centered, trauma-informed victim notification protocol that was implemented in Detroit, Michigan. Most victims (84%) did not have a strong negative emotional reaction to notification, and most (57%) decided to reengage with the criminal justice system. Victims of nonstranger sexual assaults were less likely to reengage postnotification compared with victims of stranger rape.”
Campbell, R., Shaw, J., & Fehler-Cabral, G. (2018). Evaluation of a victim-centered, trauma-informed victim notification protocol for untested sexual assault kits (SAKs). Violence Against Women 24(4), 379-400.
“Throughout the United States, hundreds of thousands of sexual assault kits (SAKs) (also termed “rape kits”) have not been submitted by the police for forensic DNA testing. DNA evidence can help sexual assault investigations and prosecutions by identifying offenders, revealing serial offenders through DNA matches across cases, and exonerating those who have been wrongly accused. In this article, we describe a 5-year action research project conducted with 1 city that had large numbers of untested SAKs—Detroit, Michigan—and our examination into why thousands of rape kits in this city were never submitted for forensic DNA testing. This mixed methods study combined ethnographic observations and qualitative interviews to identify stakeholders’ perspectives as to why rape kits were not routinely submitted for testing. Then, we quantitatively examined whether these factors may have affected police practices regarding SAK testing, as evidenced by predictable changes in SAK submission rates over time. Chronic resource scarcity only partially explained why the organizations that serve rape victims—the police, crime lab, prosecution, and victim advocacy—could not test all rape kits, investigate all reported sexual assaults, and support all rape survivors. SAK submission rates significantly increased once criminal justice professionals in this city had full access to the FBI DNA forensic database Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), but even then, most SAKs were still not submitted for DNA testing. Building crime laboratories’ capacities for DNA testing and training police on the utility of forensic evidence and best practices in sexual assault investigations can help remedy, and possibly prevent, the problem of untested rape kits.”
Campbell, R., Fehler-Cabral, G., Bybee, D., & Shaw, J. (2017). Forgotten evidence: A mixed methods study of why sexual assault kits (SAKs) are not submitted for DNA forensic testing. Law and Human Behavior, 41(5), 454-467.
“Victims of sexual assault are often advised to have a medical forensic exam and sexual assault kit (SAK; also termed a “rape kit”) to preserve physical evidence (e.g., semen, blood, and/or saliva samples) to aid in the investigation and prosecution of the crime. Law enforcement are tasked with submitting the rape kit to a forensic laboratory for DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) analysis, which can be instrumental in identifying offenders in previously unsolved crimes, confirming identify in known-offender assaults, discovering serial rapists, and exonerating individuals wrongly accused. However, a growing number of media stories, investigative advocacy projects, and social science studies indicate that police are not routinely submitting SAKs for forensic testing, and instead rape kits are placed in evidence storage, sometimes for decades. This review article examines the growing national problem of untested rape kits by summarizing current research on the number of untested SAKs in the United States and exploring the underlying reasons why police do not submit this evidence for DNA testing. Recommendations for future research that can guide policy and practice are discussed.”
Campbell, R., Feeney, H., Fehler-Cabral, G., Shaw, J., & Horsford, S. (2017). The national problem of untested sexual assault kits (SAKs): Why aren’t police submitting rape kits for DNA analysis? Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 18(4), 363-376.
BEYOND SURVEYS AND SCALES: HOW RAPE MYTHS MANIFEST IN SEXUAL ASSAULT POLICE RECORDS
“The majority of sexual assault cases reported to police are never prosecuted. Prior literature has suggested rape myths may explain these trends because police are influenced by and draw upon rape myths in their beliefs, assumptions, and actions. However, prior research has relied on surveys to measure police attitudes; less is known regarding the extent to which these attitudes manifest in official sexual assault case records. The purpose of the current study was to determine the extent to which rape myths manifest in sexual assault investigations and develop a typology of statements that functionally operate as rape myths in official police records. The written police records from N = 248 sexual assault cases were examined. Cases were coded via directed and conventional content analysis for rape myths. Statements in police records drew upon rape myths that denied or justified the assault on the basis of specific circumstances of the assault (i.e., circumstantial statements) and specific characteristics of the victim (i.e., characterological statements). Statements in police reports also blamed victims for the way police responded to the assault (i.e., investigatory blame statements). Rape myth endorsement among police is evidenced in official sexual assault case records because they invoke traditional rape myths in documenting their investigations. More frequently, police account for their response by blaming the victim for a poor police investigation postassault. Findings suggest that future research should examine the extent to which such statements predict sexual assault case progression and that training for police should emphasize behavioral change (i.e., report writing).”
Shaw, J., Campbell, R., Cain, D., & Feeney, H. (2017). Beyond surveys and scales: How rape myths manifest in sexual assault police records. Psychology of Violence, 7(4), 602-614.
THE VIEW FROM INSIDE THE SYSTEM: HOW POLICE EXPLAIN THEIR RESPONSE TO SEXUAL ASSAULT
“Prior research has documented the problematic community response to sexual assault: the majority of sexual assaults reported to police are never prosecuted. Social dominance theory suggests that this response is a form of institutional discrimination, intended to maintain existing social structures, and that police personnel likely draw upon shared ideologies to justify their decision-making in sexual assault case investigations. This study drew upon social dominance theory to examine how police justified their investigatory decisions to identify potential leverage points for change. The study revealed that the likelihood of a case referral to the prosecutor increased with each additional investigative step completed; of the different types of justifications provided by police for a less-than-thorough investigative response and stalled case, blaming the victim for the poor police investigation proved to be the most damaging to case progression; and the type of explanation provided by police was impacted by specific case variables. As suggested by social dominance theory, the study demonstrates that police rely on several different mechanisms to justify their response to sexual assault; implementing criminal justice system policies that target and interrupt these mechanisms has the potential to improve this response, regardless of specific case factors.”
Shaw, J., Campbell, R., & Cain, D. (2016). The view from inside the system: How police explain their response to sexual assault. American Journal of Community Psychology, 58(3-4), 446-462.
“Campbell and colleagues developed an evaluation Toolkit for use by sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs) to assess criminal case outcomes in adult sexual assault cases seen by SANE programs (Campbell, Townsend, Shaw, Karim, & Markowitz, 2014; Campbell, Bybee, et al., 2014). The Toolkit provides step-by-step directions and an easy-to-use statistical program. This study describes implementation of the Toolkit in Salt Lake County, the first site outside the pilot sites to utilize the program. The Toolkit revealed that, in Salt Lake County from 2003 to 2011, only 6% of adult sexual assault cases were successfully prosecuted. These findings prompted multiple community discussions, media attention, and a call to action to improve the investigation and prosecution of adult sexual assault cases. The primary purpose of this case report is to encourage other SANE teams and communities to use the Toolkit by sharing the successful experience of Salt Lake County in implementing the Toolkit.”
Valentine, J., Shaw, J., Lark, A., & Campbell, R. (2016). Now we know: Assessing sexual assault criminal justice case processing in an urban community using the Sexual Assault Nurse Practitioner Evaluation Toolkit. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 12(3), 133-140.
“To address the underreporting and underprosecution of adult sexual assaults, communities throughout the United States have implemented multidisciplinary interventions to improve post-assault care for victims and the criminal justice system response. One such model is the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Program, whereby specially trained nurses provide comprehensive psychological, medical, and forensic services for sexual assault. In this study, we conducted a multisite evaluation of six SANE programs (two rural programs, two serving midsized communities, two urban) to assess how implementation of SANE programs affects adult sexual assault prosecution rates. At each site, most sexual assaults reported to law enforcement were never referred by police to prosecutors or were not charged by the prosecutor’s office (80%-89%). Individually, none of the sites had a statistically significant increase in prosecution rates pre-SANE to post-SANE. However, when the data were aggregated across sites, thereby increasing statistical power, there was a significant effect such that cases were more likely to be prosecuted post-SANE as compared with pre-SANE. These findings suggest that the SANE intervention model does have a positive impact on sexual assault case progression in the criminal justice system. Nevertheless, there is still a pressing need for improvement as the vast majority of both pre-SANE and post-SANE resulted in nonreferral/no charges filed.”
Campbell, R., Bybee, D., Townsend, S.M., Shaw, J., Karim, N., & Markowitz, J. (2014). The impact of sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) programs on criminal justice case outcomes: A multi-site replication study. Violence Against Women, (20)5, 607-625.
“There has been sustained interest in the academic literature and in policy circles regarding how Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) programs may bolster sexual assault prosecution rates in their communities, in addition to the health care they provide to their patients. To build evaluation capacity among forensic nurses so that they can evaluate their own programs, a practitioner-oriented, step-by-step evaluation toolkit (the SANE Practitioner Evaluation Toolkit) that can be used by SANE-A and SANE-P programs, and their community partners, to examine sexual assault prosecution rates in their local jurisdictions was created and validated. This article describes the process of creating and empirically validating the toolkit and presents the toolkit itself and accompanying resources that are available to practitioners. This article also provides recommendations regarding program readiness to engage in evaluation activities, without compromising program sustainability and patient care.”
Campbell, R., Townsend, S., Shaw, J., Karim, N., & Markowitz, J. (2014). Evaluating the legal impact of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) programs: An empirically validated toolkit for practitioners. Journal of Forensic Nursing 10(4), 208-216.
“Following a sexual assault, victims are usually advised to have a medical forensic exam and sexual assault forensic exam kit (SAK). Once completed, the SAK is to be transported by law enforcement to the crime lab for analysis. However, many kits are never transported to the crime lab, thereby preventing forensic evidence obtained in the kit to be used during the prosecutorial process. The current study examined rates of SAK submission for 393 adolescent sexual assault cases in two Midwestern communities and explored what factors predicted law enforcement officers’ submission of SAKs to the crime lab for analysis. Findings reveal that more than 40% of the adolescent cases did not have their SAK submitted, and several factors, including the age and race of the victim, the number of perpetrators in the assault, and the number of assaultive acts, predicted SAK submission. Implications for SAK community protocols are discussed.”
Shaw, J., & Campbell, R. (2013). Predicting sexual assault kit submission among adolescent rape cases treated in a forensic nurse examiner program. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 28(18), 3400-3417.
Importance of Systems Orientation
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MANDATORY REPORTING AND ADOLESCENT SEXUAL ASSAULT
“Adolescents experience alarmingly high rates of sexual violence, higher than any other age-group. This is concerning as sexual violence can have detrimental effects on teens’ personal and relational well-being, causing long-term consequences for the survivor. Still, adolescents are hesitant to report the assault or seek out services and resources. When an adolescent survivor does seek out services, they may interact with a provider who is a mandatory reporter. This scoping review sought to synthesize the current U.S.-based research on the role, challenges, and impact of mandatory reporting (MR) in the context of adolescent sexual assault. Database searches using key words related to MR, sexual assault, and adolescence identified 29 peer-reviewed articles. However, none of these articles reported on empirical investigations of the phenomenon of interest and instead consisted of case studies, commentaries, and position papers. The scoping review was expanded to provide a lay of the land of what we know about the intersection of adolescent sexual assault and MR. Results of the review indicate that though implemented broadly, MR policies vary between individuals, organizations, and states and have historically been challenging to implement due to this variation, conflicts with other laws, tension between these policies and providers’ values, and other factors. Based on the available literature, the impact of MR in the context of adolescent sexual assault is unknown. There is a critical need for research and evaluation on the implementation and impact of MR policies, especially in the context of adolescents and sexual violence.”
Bailey, C., Shaw, J., & Harris, A. (2021). Mandatory reporting and adolescent sexual assault. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 24(2), 454–467.
“In jurisdictions throughout the United States, thousands of sexual assault kits (SAKs; also known as a “rape kits”) have not been submitted by the police for forensic DNA testing. DNA evidence may be helpful to sexual assault investigations and prosecutions by identifying perpetrators, revealing serial offenders through DNA matches across cases, and exonerating those who have been wrongly accused. This paper describes a longitudinal action research project conducted in Detroit, Michigan after that city discovered approximately 11,000 untested sexual assault kits in a police department storage facility. We conducted a root cause analysis to examine individual, organizational, community, and societal factors that contributed to the development of the rape kit backlog in Detroit. Based on those findings, we implemented and evaluated structural changes to increase staffing, promote kit testing, and retrain police and prosecutors so that cases could be reopened for investigation and prosecution. As we conducted this work, we also studied how this action research project impacted the Detroit criminal justice system. Participating in this project changed stakeholders’ attitudes about the utility of research to address community problems, the usefulness of DNA evidence in sexual assault cases, and the impact of trauma on survivors. The results led to new protocols for SAK testing and police investigations, and new state legislation mandating SAK forensic DNA testing.”
Campbell, R., Fehler‐Cabral, G., Pierce, S. J., Sharma, D. B., Shaw, J., Horsford, S., & Feeney, H. (2020). Changing the criminal justice system response to sexual assault: an empirical study of a participatory action research project. American Journal of Community Psychology,67(1-2), 166-178.
PROTECTING MENTAL HEALTH OF HOSPITAL WORKERS AFTER MASS CASUALTY EVENTS: A SOCIAL WORK IMPERATIVE
“Following a mass casualty, there is urgent need for the skills and services provided in hospitals by both medical social workers and employee assistance program (EAP) or occupational social workers (hereinafter referred to as EAP social workers, although we recognize that not all hospitals have on-site EAP teams). Medical social workers work with patients and families undergoing major, often life-altering trauma, and EAP social workers use similar skills to respond to mental health needs of their coworkers that may arise during the course of disaster response, providing direct support and helping facilitate supportive organizational policies and practices. However, at smaller institutions or those without a dedicated EAP social work team, medical social workers often fill both roles after mass casualty events, sometimes at the expense of their own mental health. In this commentary, we discuss roles that both EAP and medical social workers can play in supporting the mental health and well-being of hospital staff before, during, and after a mass casualty event, and provide recommendations for how these steps can be codified into hospital and citywide disaster response plans.”
Sabbath, E., Shaw, J., Stidsen, A., & Hashimoto, D. (2018). Protecting mental health of hospital workers after mass casualty events: A social work imperative. Social Work, 63(3), 272-275.
COMMENTARY: BEYOND RESILIENCE: WHY WE NEED TO LOOK AT SYSTEMS TOO
“Stories of resilience abound in American culture, and many social scientists have dedicated their programs of research to understanding what engenders resilience and developing interventions to promote it. However, too often our discussions on resilience limit it to something within the individual, effectively placing all responsibility for overcoming adversity on that individual. In this commentary, we caution against designing resilience research that fails to attend to system-level variables and how this approach can inadvertently reinforce the social circumstances it intends to help individuals overcome. The construct of resilience is multifaceted and multilevel, yet the majority of resilience research in the field of psychology operates at the individual-level of analysis. Several theories, approaches, and methods can aid resilience researchers in becoming more ecological. Through a renewed commitment to multiplicity in our research, we can better meet the needs of our communities and promote success.”
Shaw, J., McLean, K., Taylor, B. Swartout, K., & Querna, K. (2016). Commentary: Beyond resilience: Why we need to look at systems too. Psychology of Violence, (6)1, 34-41.
Medical System
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“Many communities across the country are developing, implementing, or already operating programs that provide patients with access to sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) expertise and care through telehealth technology (e.g., teleSANE or teleSAFE). The speed at which teleSANE programs are proliferating is outpacing the available research and evaluation to inform key decisions on program development and implementation. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health SANE Program and its National TeleNursing Center decided to rapidly and temporarily convert a set of hospitals from providing in-person SANE care to remote teleSANE care. Several specific changes were made to this program’s established teleSANE model for the rapid, temporary conversion. This article reports on findings from an evaluation of the temporary TeleSANE model that provide insight into key decisions thatmust bemade in the development and implementation of teleSANE program features. Communities considering developing or already operating a teleSANE program should be intentional in making program goals, purposes, and values explicit as well as develop their program accordingly.”
Shaw, J., Feeney, H., Meunier-Sham, J., Petricone, R., & Preiss, R. (2022). Using telehealth technology to serve patients reporting sexual assault: An evaluation of key teleSANE program features. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 18(4), 196-203.
AN EVALUATION OF A RAPID CONVERSION TO TELESANE IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19
“Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs) provide expert, comprehensive medical forensic care to patients who present for services following a sexual assault. Because SANEs are not consistently available, telehealth technology is being explored as a means to provide access to this expert care (i.e., teleSANE). During the COVID‐19 pandemic, teleSANE offered additional potential benefits by reducing the length of time spent and number of providers in patient exam rooms, the need for personal protective equipment that was in high demand and short supply, and provider anxiety related to providing in‐person care. In the summer of 2020, the Massachusetts SANE program rapidly and temporarily converted five hospitals from in‐person SANE care to teleSANE. An evaluation team interviewed 23 providers using a rapid research and evaluation methods approach to assess the temporary model and inform the future of SANE care. Evaluation findings reveal it is possible to rapidly and temporarily convert hospitals from in‐person to teleSANE care in a time of broad uncertainty, and that such a change requires intensive and thoughtful planning; a shared commitment to being supportive, flexible, and responsive; and specific experience and expertise. Considerations for communities exploring how best to ensure consistent, equitable access to SANEs are discussed.”
Shaw, J., Feeney, H., Meunier-Sham, J., Hazard, K., Plante, P., & Petricone, R. (2022). An evaluation of a rapid conversion to teleSANE in response to Covid-19. American Journal of Community Psychology, 70(3-4), 458-474.
MANDATORY REPORTING AND ADOLESCENT SEXUAL ASSAULT
“Adolescents experience alarmingly high rates of sexual violence, higher than any other age-group. This is concerning as sexual violence can have detrimental effects on teens’ personal and relational well-being, causing long-term consequences for the survivor. Still, adolescents are hesitant to report the assault or seek out services and resources. When an adolescent survivor does seek out services, they may interact with a provider who is a mandatory reporter. This scoping review sought to synthesize the current U.S.-based research on the role, challenges, and impact of mandatory reporting (MR) in the context of adolescent sexual assault. Database searches using key words related to MR, sexual assault, and adolescence identified 29 peer-reviewed articles. However, none of these articles reported on empirical investigations of the phenomenon of interest and instead consisted of case studies, commentaries, and position papers. The scoping review was expanded to provide a lay of the land of what we know about the intersection of adolescent sexual assault and MR. Results of the review indicate that though implemented broadly, MR policies vary between individuals, organizations, and states and have historically been challenging to implement due to this variation, conflicts with other laws, tension between these policies and providers’ values, and other factors. Based on the available literature, the impact of MR in the context of adolescent sexual assault is unknown. There is a critical need for research and evaluation on the implementation and impact of MR policies, especially in the context of adolescents and sexual violence.”
Bailey, C., Shaw, J., & Harris, A. (2021). Mandatory reporting and adolescent sexual assault. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 24(2), 454–467 .
“Sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs) are specially trained to meet the postassault medical forensic needs of sexual assault patients. However, there remains a dearth of literature comparing directly postassault service provision and action in cases treated by SANEs as compared to non-SANE medical providers. In this study, we compare rates of emergency contraception administration, toxicology kit use, reports to police at the time of examination, and mandatory child abuse reports among n = 3,969 sexual assault cases treated by SANEs and non-SANE medical providers. Compared to cases treated by non-SANE medical providers, cases treated by SANEs were significantly more likely to have emergency contraception administered, less likely to have a toxicology kit collected, less likely to have a police report filed at the time of examination, and more likely to have a mandatory child abuse report filed. Observed patterns suggest that non-SANE medical providers may find it difficult to balance the needs of the criminal justice system with those of their patients, whereas SANEs provide a tailored, comprehensive first response. We discuss the importance of consistent, accurate documentation and clearly defined protocols in the medical forensic response to sexual assault patients.”
Shaw, J., & Coates, V. (2021). Emergency Contraception Administration, Toxicology Kit Use, and Postassault Reporting: A Comparison of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) and Non-SANE Medical Providers. Journal of Forensic Nursing,17(3), 146-153.
PROTECTING MENTAL HEALTH OF HOSPITAL WORKERS AFTER MASS CASUALTY EVENTS: A SOCIAL WORK IMPERATIVE
“Following a mass casualty, there is urgent need for the skills and services provided in hospitals by both medical social workers and employee assistance program (EAP) or occupational social workers (hereinafter referred to as EAP social workers, although we recognize that not all hospitals have on-site EAP teams). Medical social workers work with patients and families undergoing major, often life-altering trauma, and EAP social workers use similar skills to respond to mental health needs of their coworkers that may arise during the course of disaster response, providing direct support and helping facilitate supportive organizational policies and practices. However, at smaller institutions or those without a dedicated EAP social work team, medical social workers often fill both roles after mass casualty events, sometimes at the expense of their own mental health. In this commentary, we discuss roles that both EAP and medical social workers can play in supporting the mental health and well-being of hospital staff before, during, and after a mass casualty event, and provide recommendations for how these steps can be codified into hospital and citywide disaster response plans.”
Sabbath, E., Shaw, J., Stidsen, A., & Hashimoto, D. (2018). Protecting mental health of hospital workers after mass casualty events: A social work imperative. Social Work, 63(3), 272-275.
“Campbell and colleagues developed an evaluation Toolkit for use by sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs) to assess criminal case outcomes in adult sexual assault cases seen by SANE programs (Campbell, Townsend, Shaw, Karim, & Markowitz, 2014; Campbell, Bybee, et al., 2014). The Toolkit provides step-by-step directions and an easy-to-use statistical program. This study describes implementation of the Toolkit in Salt Lake County, the first site outside the pilot sites to utilize the program. The Toolkit revealed that, in Salt Lake County from 2003 to 2011, only 6% of adult sexual assault cases were successfully prosecuted. These findings prompted multiple community discussions, media attention, and a call to action to improve the investigation and prosecution of adult sexual assault cases. The primary purpose of this case report is to encourage other SANE teams and communities to use the Toolkit by sharing the successful experience of Salt Lake County in implementing the Toolkit.”
Valentine, J., Shaw, J., Lark, A., & Campbell, R. (2016). Now we know: Assessing sexual assault criminal justice case processing in an urban community using the Sexual Assault Nurse Practitioner Evaluation Toolkit. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 12(3), 133-140.
“To address the underreporting and underprosecution of adult sexual assaults, communities throughout the United States have implemented multidisciplinary interventions to improve post-assault care for victims and the criminal justice system response. One such model is the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Program, whereby specially trained nurses provide comprehensive psychological, medical, and forensic services for sexual assault. In this study, we conducted a multisite evaluation of six SANE programs (two rural programs, two serving midsized communities, two urban) to assess how implementation of SANE programs affects adult sexual assault prosecution rates. At each site, most sexual assaults reported to law enforcement were never referred by police to prosecutors or were not charged by the prosecutor’s office (80%-89%). Individually, none of the sites had a statistically significant increase in prosecution rates pre-SANE to post-SANE. However, when the data were aggregated across sites, thereby increasing statistical power, there was a significant effect such that cases were more likely to be prosecuted post-SANE as compared with pre-SANE. These findings suggest that the SANE intervention model does have a positive impact on sexual assault case progression in the criminal justice system. Nevertheless, there is still a pressing need for improvement as the vast majority of both pre-SANE and post-SANE resulted in nonreferral/no charges filed.”
Campbell, R., Bybee, D., Townsend, S.M., Shaw, J., Karim, N., & Markowitz, J. (2014). The impact of sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) programs on criminal justice case outcomes: A multi-site replication study. Violence Against Women, (20)5, 607-625.
“There has been sustained interest in the academic literature and in policy circles regarding how Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) programs may bolster sexual assault prosecution rates in their communities, in addition to the health care they provide to their patients. To build evaluation capacity among forensic nurses so that they can evaluate their own programs, a practitioner-oriented, step-by-step evaluation toolkit (the SANE Practitioner Evaluation Toolkit) that can be used by SANE-A and SANE-P programs, and their community partners, to examine sexual assault prosecution rates in their local jurisdictions was created and validated. This article describes the process of creating and empirically validating the toolkit and presents the toolkit itself and accompanying resources that are available to practitioners. This article also provides recommendations regarding program readiness to engage in evaluation activities, without compromising program sustainability and patient care.”
Campbell, R., Townsend, S., Shaw, J., Karim, N., & Markowitz, J. (2014). Evaluating the legal impact of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) programs: An empirically validated toolkit for practitioners. Journal of Forensic Nursing 10(4), 208-216.
PREDICTING SEXUAL ASSAULT KIT SUBMISSION AMONG ADOLESCENT RAPE CASES TREATED IN A FORENSIC NURSE EXAMINER PROGRAM
“Following a sexual assault, victims are usually advised to have a medical forensic exam and sexual assault forensic exam kit (SAK). Once completed, the SAK is to be transported by law enforcement to the crime lab for analysis. However, many kits are never transported to the crime lab, thereby preventing forensic evidence obtained in the kit to be used during the prosecutorial process. The current study examined rates of SAK submission for 393 adolescent sexual assault cases in two Midwestern communities and explored what factors predicted law enforcement officers’ submission of SAKs to the crime lab for analysis. Findings reveal that more than 40% of the adolescent cases did not have their SAK submitted, and several factors, including the age and race of the victim, the number of perpetrators in the assault, and the number of assaultive acts, predicted SAK submission. Implications for SAK community protocols are discussed.”
Shaw, J., & Campbell, R. (2013). Predicting sexual assault kit submission among adolescent rape cases treated in a forensic nurse examiner program. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 28(18), 3400-3417.
Sexual Assault Kits
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“Sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs) are specially trained to meet the postassault medical forensic needs of sexual assault patients. However, there remains a dearth of literature comparing directly postassault service provision and action in cases treated by SANEs as compared to non-SANE medical providers. In this study, we compare rates of emergency contraception administration, toxicology kit use, reports to police at the time of examination, and mandatory child abuse reports among n = 3,969 sexual assault cases treated by SANEs and non-SANE medical providers. Compared to cases treated by non-SANE medical providers, cases treated by SANEs were significantly more likely to have emergency contraception administered, less likely to have a toxicology kit collected, less likely to have a police report filed at the time of examination, and more likely to have a mandatory child abuse report filed. Observed patterns suggest that non-SANE medical providers may find it difficult to balance the needs of the criminal justice system with those of their patients, whereas SANEs provide a tailored, comprehensive first response. We discuss the importance of consistent, accurate documentation and clearly defined protocols in the medical forensic response to sexual assault patients.”
Shaw, J., & Coates, V. (2021). Emergency Contraception Administration, Toxicology Kit Use, and Postassault Reporting: A Comparison of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) and Non-SANE Medical Providers. Journal of Forensic Nursing,17(3), 146-153.
“In jurisdictions throughout the United States, thousands of sexual assault kits (SAKs; also known as a “rape kits”) have not been submitted by the police for forensic DNA testing. DNA evidence may be helpful to sexual assault investigations and prosecutions by identifying perpetrators, revealing serial offenders through DNA matches across cases, and exonerating those who have been wrongly accused. This paper describes a longitudinal action research project conducted in Detroit, Michigan after that city discovered approximately 11,000 untested sexual assault kits in a police department storage facility. We conducted a root cause analysis to examine individual, organizational, community, and societal factors that contributed to the development of the rape kit backlog in Detroit. Based on those findings, we implemented and evaluated structural changes to increase staffing, promote kit testing, and retrain police and prosecutors so that cases could be reopened for investigation and prosecution. As we conducted this work, we also studied how this action research project impacted the Detroit criminal justice system. Participating in this project changed stakeholders’ attitudes about the utility of research to address community problems, the usefulness of DNA evidence in sexual assault cases, and the impact of trauma on survivors. The results led to new protocols for SAK testing and police investigations, and new state legislation mandating SAK forensic DNA testing.”
Campbell, R., Fehler‐Cabral, G., Pierce, S. J., Sharma, D. B., Shaw, J., Horsford, S., & Feeney, H. (2020). Changing the criminal justice system response to sexual assault: an empirical study of a participatory action research project. American Journal of Community Psychology, 67(1-2), 166-178.
HIGH RATES OF SEXUAL ASSAULT KIT SUBMISSION AND THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF PLACE
“Stockpiles of unsubmitted sexual assault kits have been documented in jurisdictions across the country. The present study examines the rate and predictors of sexual assault kit submission across one entire state while accounting for potential variation between cities. Methods: We obtained data (final n = 4,204) relating to all sexual assault kits completed in Massachusetts between 2011 and 2015 from a state safety agency and all crime laboratories in the state. We employed logistic mixed modeling to account for the nested nature of the data, with sexual assault kits corresponding to assaults that took place in different cities. Models included city in which the assault occurred (level 2) as well as victim, assault, and case characteristics (level 1). Results: Ninety percent of the kits included in the sample were submitted to the crime lab for analysis. Few victim and assault characteristics predicted kit submission. The city in which the assault occurred was associated with substantial variation in the likelihood of kit submission, accounting for 43% of the variation in the dependent variable. Conclusions: Findings suggest that state and organizational culture, policy, and practice substantially contribute to sexual assault kit handling; further research is required to identify these key factors.”
Shaw, J., Coates, V., & Janulis, P. (2020). High rates of sexual assault kit submission and the important role of place. Journal of Criminal Justice, 67, 101671.
“Throughout the United States, hundreds of thousands of sexual assault kits (SAKs) have not been submitted by the police for forensic DNA testing, which raises complex issues regarding how victims ought to be notified about what happened to their kits. In this project, we evaluated a victim-centered, trauma-informed victim notification protocol that was implemented in Detroit, Michigan. Most victims (84%) did not have a strong negative emotional reaction to notification, and most (57%) decided to reengage with the criminal justice system. Victims of non-stranger sexual assaults were less likely to reengage post-notification compared with victims of stranger rape.”
Campbell, R., Shaw, J., & Fehler-Cabral, G. (2018). Evaluation of a victim-centered, trauma-informed victim notification protocol for untested sexual assault kits (SAKs). Violence Against Women 24(4), 379-400.
“Throughout the United States, hundreds of thousands of sexual assault kits (SAKs) (also termed “rape kits”) have not been submitted by the police for forensic DNA testing. DNA evidence can help sexual assault investigations and prosecutions by identifying offenders, revealing serial offenders through DNA matches across cases, and exonerating those who have been wrongly accused. In this article, we describe a 5-year action research project conducted with 1 city that had large numbers of untested SAKs-Detroit, Michigan-and our examination into why thousands of rape kits in this city were never submitted for forensic DNA testing. This mixed methods study combined ethnographic observations and qualitative interviews to identify stakeholders’ perspectives as to why rape kits were not routinely submitted for testing. Then, we quantitatively examined whether these factors may have affected police practices regarding SAK testing, as evidenced by predictable changes in SAK submission rates over time. Chronic resource scarcity only partially explained why the organizations that serve rape victims-the police, crime lab, prosecution, and victim advocacy-could not test all rape kits, investigate all reported sexual assaults, and support all rape survivors. SAK submission rates significantly increased once criminal justice professionals in this city had full access to the FBI DNA forensic database Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), but even then, most SAKs were still not submitted for DNA testing. Building crime laboratories’ capacities for DNA testing and training police on the utility of forensic evidence and best practices in sexual assault investigations can help remedy, and possibly prevent, the problem of untested rape kits.”
Campbell, R., Fehler-Cabral, G., Bybee, D., & Shaw, J. (2017). Forgotten evidence: A mixed methods study of why sexual assault kits (SAKs) are not submitted for DNA forensic testing. Law and Human Behavior, 41(5), 454-467.
“Victims of sexual assault are often advised to have a medical forensic exam and sexual assault kit (SAK; also termed a “rape kit”) to preserve physical evidence (e.g., semen, blood, and/or saliva samples) to aid in the investigation and prosecution of the crime. Law enforcement are tasked with submitting the rape kit to a forensic laboratory for DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) analysis, which can be instrumental in identifying offenders in previously unsolved crimes, confirming identify in known-offender assaults, discovering serial rapists, and exonerating individuals wrongly accused. However, a growing number of media stories, investigative advocacy projects, and social science studies indicate that police are not routinely submitting SAKs for forensic testing, and instead rape kits are placed in evidence storage, sometimes for decades. This review article examines the growing national problem of untested rape kits by summarizing current research on the number of untested SAKs in the United States and exploring the underlying reasons why police do not submit this evidence for DNA testing. Recommendations for future research that can guide policy and practice are discussed.”
Campbell, R., Feeney, H., Fehler-Cabral, G., Shaw, J., & Horsford, S. (2017). The national problem of untested sexual assault kits (SAKs): Why aren’t police submitting rape kits for DNA analysis? Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 18(4), 363-376.
COMPARING STANDARD AND SELECTIVE DEGRADATION DNA EXTRACTION METHODS: RESULTS FROM A FIELD EXPERIMENT WITH SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS (SAKS)
“A growing number of U.S. cities have large numbers of untested sexual assault kits (SAKs) in police property facilities. Testing older kits and maintaining current case work will be challenging for forensic laboratories, creating a need for more efficient testing methods. Methods: We evaluated selective degradation methods for DNA extraction using actual case work from a sample of previously unsubmitted SAKs in Detroit, Michigan. We randomly assigned 350 kits to either standard or selective degradation testing methods and then compared DNA testing rates and CODIS entry rates between the two groups. Results and conclusions: Continuation‐ratio modeling showed no significant differences, indicating that the selective degradation method had no decrement in performance relative to customary methods. Follow‐up equivalence tests indicated that CODIS entry rates for the two methods could differ by more than ±5%. Selective degradation methods required less personnel time for testing and scientific review than standard testing.”
Campbell, R., Pierce, S.J., Sharma, D.B., Shaw, J., Feeney, H., Nye, J., Schelling, K., & Fehler-Cabral, G. (2017). Comparing standard and selective degradation DNA extraction methods: Results from a field experiment with sexual assault kits (SAKs). Journal of Forensic Sciences, 62(1), 213-222.
BRINGING RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE: AN EVALUATION OF MICHIGAN’S PILOT SEXUAL ASSAULT KIT (SAK)
“The importance of research-informed practice for the field of sexual assault has been stressed by academics and practitioners alike. However, there are few examples of researcher–practitioner partnerships in the literature, therefore providing minimal guidance for this process. This article describes a researcher–practitioner partnership that was successful in using evaluation data to guide practice and policy decisions regarding the development and implementation of a new sexual assault kit for the state of Michigan. Cousins’s practical participatory evaluation theory was used as the guiding framework for the evaluation. Data collection methods included focus groups with practitioners from five, regionally dispersed health care settings in Michigan, and surveys with forensic scientists throughout the state’s regional laboratory system. This case study highlights how researchers and practitioners worked together for data collection, analysis, and dissemination to support research-informed practice in this state. Lessons learned and future recommendations for forming researcher–practitioner partnerships to improve the response to sexual assault are discussed.”
Shaw, J., Campbell, R., Hagstrom, J., O’Reilly, L., Kreiger, G., Cain, D., & Nye, J. (2016). Bringing research into practice: An evaluation of Michigan’s pilot sexual assault kit (SAK). Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 31(8), 1476-1500.
SHELVING JUSTICE: THE DISCOVERY OF THOUSANDS OF UNTESTED RAPE KITS IN DETROIT
“In August 2009, approximately 11,000 sexual assault kits (SAKs; “rape kits”) were found in a Detroit police department storage facility, the vast majority of which had never been tested for DNA evidence. To address this problem, a multidisciplinary action research project was formed to bring together researchers and practitioners from law enforcement, prosecution, forensic sciences, medicine/nursing, and victim advocacy to develop evidence‐based response strategies. In this paper, we will draw upon qualitative interviews with Detroit stakeholders, archival records, and ethnographic observations to examine the events surrounding the discovery of the rape kits and why police personnel did not view the accumulation of so many untested SAKs as a problem. Over the course of this three‐year action research project, Detroit stakeholders worked together to enact local‐ and state‐level reforms to test these kits and to prevent this problem from happening again.”
Campbell, R., Shaw, J., & Fehler-Cabral, G. (2015). Shelving justice: The discovery of thousands of untested rape kits in Detroit. City & Community, 14(2), 151-166.
“Following a sexual assault, victims are usually advised to have a medical forensic exam and sexual assault forensic exam kit (SAK). Once completed, the SAK is to be transported by law enforcement to the crime lab for analysis. However, many kits are never transported to the crime lab, thereby preventing forensic evidence obtained in the kit to be used during the prosecutorial process. The current study examined rates of SAK submission for 393 adolescent sexual assault cases in two Midwestern communities and explored what factors predicted law enforcement officers’ submission of SAKs to the crime lab for analysis. Findings reveal that more than 40% of the adolescent cases did not have their SAK submitted, and several factors, including the age and race of the victim, the number of perpetrators in the assault, and the number of assaultive acts, predicted SAK submission. Implications for SAK community protocols are discussed.”
Shaw, J., & Campbell, R. (2013). Predicting sexual assault kit submission among adolescent rape cases treated in a forensic nurse examiner program. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 28(18), 3400-3417.
Advancing Community Psychology Training & Practice
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“Community psychologists (CPs) are committed to value-based praxis, an interdisciplinary orientation, and an ecological approach to community collaboration in pursuit of social justice and liberation. Because no setting is immune to the impacts of the intersecting systems of oppression in which we are embedded, CPs end up working in a wide array of settings, and often as the only CP in the setting. This dynamic—operating as a “lone” CP—may be rewarding as the CP is able to provide unique value at
work, or may present specific challenges, particularly if the CP’s sense of community or mattering is compromised. We interviewed n = 31 lone CP to explore their work experiences, including the benefits, challenges, and what they need to thrive in their current setting. Findings reveal a wide array of experiences among CPs, related to their community psychology, and other identities. Participants consistently discussed the important role of values in their decision‐making and experiences at work, and provide specific recommendations as to how the Society for Community Research and Action (SCRA) can ensure all CPs across all settings can thrive. This includes providing more tangible and relational support, changing SCRA’s culture and priorities, and improving community psychology undergraduate and graduate training.”
Shaw, J., Bailey, C., Kashyap, M., Danylkiv, A., Chávez, N.R., & Voight, A. (2022). The experiences and needs of lone community psychologists: Exploring diversity of settings and identities. Journal of Community Psychology, 51(5), 1917-1934.
“Community psychology has long valued reflexive praxis as a critical part advancing our research and action. In this Virtual Special Issue (VSI), we, a group of community psychologists and gender‐based violence (GBV) researchers at many different points in our careers, reflected on GBV publications that have appeared in AJCP. We examine the ways in which community psychology broadly and articles in AJCP more specifically have conceptualized GBV as a sociocultural issue, how GBV intersects with other oppressions and forms of violence, the tension when systems that aspire to support survivors are inequitable and focused on ameliorative change, and the importance of interventions being locally informed and locally driven. By highlighting selected GBV‐focused articles published in AJCP, this VSI discusses (a) understanding and transforming culture via robust research and local partnerships, (b) targeting effective interventions for survivors, (c) invoking systems and targeting change in institutional environments, and (d) making connections between local efforts and broader social movements. To continue to move forward, we conclude we must reflect, embrace methodological plurality, partner, and push for structural change. Reflective questions regarding research and action are offered, to address gender‐based violence.”
Nnawulezi, N., Rieger, A., Shaw, J., Greeson, M.R., Lichty, L., & Allen, N. (2022). Reflecting and rejuvenating our work, together: One team’s consideration of AJCP publications on gender-based violence. American Journal of Psychology. Advanced online publication.
“This special issue of The American Journal of Community Psychology originated from the Society for Community Research and Action Criminal Justice interest group, with a goal of exploring the work of community psychologists intersecting with criminal justice research, practice, and policy and shaped by our shared values— equity, collaboration, creative maladjustment, social justice, and social science in the service of social justice. In this introduction, we discuss the socio-historical context of the special issue, followed by an outline of the special issue organization, and brief summary of the included papers. Across 13 papers and an invited commentary, we see the ways in which community psychologists are: (1) delivering and evaluating services, programming, or other supports to address the needs of system-involved people; and (2) working to improve the systems, structures, and interactions with units of criminal justice systems. Across these two sections, authors highlight the guiding role of our values to influence change within and outside of criminal-legal systems.”
Shaw, J., Rade, C. B., Fisher, B. W., Freund, N., & Tompsett, C. J. (2021). Criminal Justice and Community Psychology: Our Values and Our Work—The Introduction to the Special Issue. American Journal of Community Psychology, 67(1-2), 3-6.
NEVER TOO EARLY TO START: TRAINING GRADUATE STUDENTS FOR POLICY WORK
“Research can be used to develop empirically informed policy solutions to our most pressing public problems. However, research is all too often left out of the public policymaking conversation. Researchers can change this, by learning how to engage and collaborate with policymakers. In this article, we present and adapt a conceptual framework from the field of community psychology-Kelly’s (1971) “Qualities for a Community Psychologist”-to provide insight into training graduate students for policy engagement.”
Shaw, J., Feeney, H., & Campbell, R. (2019). Never too early to start: Training graduate students for policy work. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 89(4), 426-433.
Bridging the Gap Between Research, Policy, and Practice
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RAPE CRISIS VICTIM ADVOCACY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
“While rape crisis center (RCC) advocacy is generally regarded as valuable, there are no prior systematic reviews of the advocacy literature. This review examined RCC advocacy service provision, perceptions and impact of advocacy, and challenges and facilitators to effective service provision. Databases related to health and social sciences were searched including Academic Search Complete, PsychINFO, PubMed, CINAHL, ProQuest, Science Direct, OAlster, WorldCat, and MEDLINE. Empirical articles written in English that examined RCC advocacy service provision and/or impact in the US were included. The researchers reviewed abstracts and titles, and then full texts. Forty-five articles met criteria, were summarized, and double checked. Findings demonstrate advocacy is multi-faceted, beneficial, and challenging. Advocates work directly with survivors and interact with other responders on behalf of survivors. Specifically, advocates provide emotional support, safety plan, support survivors in making decisions, and assist them in navigating other systems. While advocates are generally regarded positively by survivors and responders, some responders have concerns about advocates. In addition, advocates sometimes report victim-blaming and being ill-equipped to meet survivors’ needs. Finally, advocates face specific challenges in their work with survivors and responders. Future research using diverse methodological approaches is needed to understand advocacy utilization and reach; survivors’ perceptions of advocacy; marginalized survivors’ experiences; connections between specific services, implementation, and outcomes; and effective strategies for advocates’ interactions with other responders. Additional resources to help advocates serve all survivors effectively and equitably; to support evaluator-practitioner partnerships; and to share unpublished data on advocacy may help contribute to improvements in advocacy practice.”
Wegrzyn, A., Tull, P., Greeson, M.R., Pierre-Louis, C., Patton, E., & Shaw, J. (2022). Rape crisis victim advocacy: A systematic review. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse. Advanced online publication.
MANDATORY REPORTING AND ADOLESCENT SEXUAL ASSAULT
“Adolescents experience alarmingly high rates of sexual violence, higher than any other age-group. This is concerning as sexual violence can have detrimental effects on teens’ personal and relational well-being, causing long-term consequences for the survivor. Still, adolescents are hesitant to report the assault or seek out services and resources. When an adolescent survivor does seek out services, they may interact with a provider who is a mandatory reporter. This scoping review sought to synthesize the current U.S.-based research on the role, challenges, and impact of mandatory reporting (MR) in the context of adolescent sexual assault. Database searches using key words related to MR, sexual assault, and adolescence identified 29 peer-reviewed articles. However, none of these articles reported on empirical investigations of the phenomenon of interest and instead consisted of case studies, commentaries, and position papers. The scoping review was expanded to provide a lay of the land of what we know about the intersection of adolescent sexual assault and MR. Results of the review indicate that though implemented broadly, MR policies vary between individuals, organizations, and states and have historically been challenging to implement due to this variation, conflicts with other laws, tension between these policies and providers’ values, and other factors. Based on the available literature, the impact of MR in the context of adolescent sexual assault is unknown. There is a critical need for research and evaluation on the implementation and impact of MR policies, especially in the context of adolescents and sexual violence.”
Bailey, C., Shaw, J., & Harris, A. (2021). Mandatory reporting and adolescent sexual assault. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 24(2), 454–467.
“In jurisdictions throughout the United States, thousands of sexual assault kits (SAKs; also known as a “rape kits”) have not been submitted by the police for forensic DNA testing. DNA evidence may be helpful to sexual assault investigations and prosecutions by identifying perpetrators, revealing serial offenders through DNA matches across cases, and exonerating those who have been wrongly accused. This paper describes a longitudinal action research project conducted in Detroit, Michigan after that city discovered approximately 11,000 untested sexual assault kits in a police department storage facility. We conducted a root cause analysis to examine individual, organizational, community, and societal factors that contributed to the development of the rape kit backlog in Detroit. Based on those findings, we implemented and evaluated structural changes to increase staffing, promote kit testing, and retrain police and prosecutors so that cases could be reopened for investigation and prosecution. As we conducted this work, we also studied how this action research project impacted the Detroit criminal justice system. Participating in this project changed stakeholders’ attitudes about the utility of research to address community problems, the usefulness of DNA evidence in sexual assault cases, and the impact of trauma on survivors. The results led to new protocols for SAK testing and police investigations, and new state legislation mandating SAK forensic DNA testing.”
Campbell, R., Fehler‐Cabral, G., Pierce, S. J., Sharma, D. B., Shaw, J., Horsford, S., & Feeney, H. (2020). Changing the criminal justice system response to sexual assault: an empirical study of a participatory action research project. American Journal of Community Psychology, 67(1-2), 166-178.
NEVER TOO EARLY TO START: TRAINING GRADUATE STUDENTS FOR POLICY WORK
“Research can be used to develop empirically informed policy solutions to our most pressing public problems. However, research is all too often left out of the public policymaking conversation. Researchers can change this, by learning how to engage and collaborate with policymakers. In this article, we present and adapt a conceptual framework from the field of community psychology-Kelly’s (1971) “Qualities for a Community Psychologist”-to provide insight into training graduate students for policy engagement.”
Shaw, J., Feeney, H., & Campbell, R. (2019). Never too early to start: Training graduate students for policy work. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 89(4), 426-433.
HOW CAN RESEARCH MEDIATORS BETTER MEDIATE?: THE IMPORTANCE OF INWARD-LOOKING PROCESSES
“Science can provide empirically-informed strategies and resources to inform and improve policy and practice, though all too often science, policy, and practice operate independently from one another. Research mediators play a critical role by attempting to connect these different worlds. This practice paper presents lessons learned and recommendations for improving the effectiveness of research mediators in bridging the science-practice gap based on the experiences of a Visiting Fellow in a United States federal research agency. To support evidence-informed policy and practice, research mediators must engage in inward-looking processes–they must attend to their own internal science-practice gaps, commit to interdisciplinarity, and institutionalise such work.”
Shaw, J. (2018). How can research mediators better mediate?: The importance of inward-looking processes. Evidence & Policy: A Journal of Research, Debate, & Practice (14)1, 143-153.
BRINGING RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE: AN EVALUATION OF MICHIGAN’S PILOT SEXUAL ASSAULT KIT (SAK)
“The importance of research-informed practice for the field of sexual assault has been stressed by academics and practitioners alike. However, there are few examples of researcher–practitioner partnerships in the literature, therefore providing minimal guidance for this process. This article describes a researcher–practitioner partnership that was successful in using evaluation data to guide practice and policy decisions regarding the development and implementation of a new sexual assault kit for the state of Michigan. Cousins’s practical participatory evaluation theory was used as the guiding framework for the evaluation. Data collection methods included focus groups with practitioners from five, regionally dispersed health care settings in Michigan, and surveys with forensic scientists throughout the state’s regional laboratory system. This case study highlights how researchers and practitioners worked together for data collection, analysis, and dissemination to support research-informed practice in this state. Lessons learned and future recommendations for forming researcher–practitioner partnerships to improve the response to sexual assault are discussed.”
Shaw, J., Campbell, R., Hagstrom, J., O’Reilly, L., Kreiger, G., Cain, D., & Nye, J. (2016). Bringing research into practice: An evaluation of Michigan’s pilot sexual assault kit (SAK). Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 31(8), 1476-1500.
Advanced Research Methods
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“In jurisdictions throughout the United States, thousands of sexual assault kits (SAKs; also known as a “rape kits”) have not been submitted by the police for forensic DNA testing. DNA evidence may be helpful to sexual assault investigations and prosecutions by identifying perpetrators, revealing serial offenders through DNA matches across cases, and exonerating those who have been wrongly accused. This paper describes a longitudinal action research project conducted in Detroit, Michigan after that city discovered approximately 11,000 untested sexual assault kits in a police department storage facility. We conducted a root cause analysis to examine individual, organizational, community, and societal factors that contributed to the development of the rape kit backlog in Detroit. Based on those findings, we implemented and evaluated structural changes to increase staffing, promote kit testing, and retrain police and prosecutors so that cases could be reopened for investigation and prosecution. As we conducted this work, we also studied how this action research project impacted the Detroit criminal justice system. Participating in this project changed stakeholders’ attitudes about the utility of research to address community problems, the usefulness of DNA evidence in sexual assault cases, and the impact of trauma on survivors. The results led to new protocols for SAK testing and police investigations, and new state legislation mandating SAK forensic DNA testing.”
Campbell, R., Fehler‐Cabral, G., Pierce, S. J., Sharma, D. B., Shaw, J., Horsford, S., & Feeney, H. (2020). Changing the criminal justice system response to sexual assault: an empirical study of a participatory action research project. American Journal of Community Psychology, 67(1-2), 166-178.
RE-EVALUATING SEXUAL VIOLENCE PREVENTION THROUGH BYSTANDER EDUCATION: A LATENT GROWTH CURVE APPROACH
“Recently, there has been a call for more advanced analytic techniques in violence against women research, particularly in community interventions that use longitudinal designs. The current study re-evaluates experimental evaluation data from a sexual violence bystander intervention program. Using an exploratory latent growth curve approach, we were able to model the longitudinal growth trajectories of individual participants over the course of the entire study. Although the results largely confirm the original evaluation findings, the latent growth curve approach better fits the demands of “messy” data (e.g., missing data, varying number of time points per participant, and unequal time spacing within and between participants) that are frequently obtained during a community-based intervention. The benefits of modern statistical techniques to practitioners and researchers in the field of sexual violence prevention, and violence against women more generally, are further discussed.”
Shaw, J., & Janulis, P. (2016). Re-evaluating sexual violence prevention through bystander education: A latent growth curve approach. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 31(16), 2729-2750.
THE “PROCESS” OF PROCESS USE: METHODS FOR LONGITUDINAL ASSESSMENT IN A MULTI-SITE EVALUATION
“Process use refers to the ways in which stakeholders and/or evaluands change as a function of participating in evaluation activities. Although the concept of process use has been well discussed in the literature, exploration of methodological strategies for the measurement and assessment of process use has been limited. Typically, empirical research on process use has been limited to cross-sectional studies in single-site evaluation projects. In this method note, we present a longitudinal study of process use in a multisite evaluation project. Stakeholders’ changes in learning, attitudes, and behavior/action were assessed at three time points: prior to the onset of evaluation consultation; near the conclusion of a 1-year participatory consultation project; and 6–8 weeks after the termination of the project. Results showed that different domains of process use had differential development over time. Implications for measuring process use are discussed.”
Shaw, J., & Campbell, R. (2014). The “process” of process use: Methods for longitudinal assessment in a multi-site evaluation. American Journal of Evaluation, 35(2), 250-260.
COMMENTARY: BEYOND RESILIENCE: WHY WE NEED TO LOOK AT SYSTEMS TOO
“Stories of resilience abound in American culture, and many social scientists have dedicated their programs of research to understanding what engenders resilience and developing interventions to promote it. However, too often our discussions on resilience limit it to something within the individual, effectively placing all responsibility for overcoming adversity on that individual. In this commentary, we caution against designing resilience research that fails to attend to system-level variables and how this approach can inadvertently reinforce the social circumstances it intends to help individuals overcome. The construct of resilience is multifaceted and multilevel, yet the majority of resilience research in the field of psychology operates at the individual-level of analysis. Several theories, approaches, and methods can aid resilience researchers in becoming more ecological. Through a renewed commitment to multiplicity in our research, we can better meet the needs of our communities and promote success.”
Shaw, J., McLean, K., Taylor, B. Swartout, K., & Querna, K. (2016). Commentary: Beyond resilience: Why we need to look at systems too. Psychology of Violence, (6)1, 34-41.
Evaluation
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“Many communities across the country are developing, implementing, or already operating programs that provide patients with access to sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) expertise and care through telehealth technology (e.g., teleSANE or teleSAFE). The speed at which teleSANE programs are proliferating is outpacing the available research and evaluation to inform key decisions on program development and implementation. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health SANE Program and its National TeleNursing Center decided to rapidly and temporarily convert a set of hospitals from providing in-person SANE care to remote teleSANE care. Several specific changes were made to this program’s established teleSANE model for the rapid, temporary conversion. This article reports on findings from an evaluation of the temporary TeleSANE model that provide insight into key decisions that must be made in the development and implementation of teleSANE program features. Communities considering developing or already operating a teleSANE program should be intentional in making program goals, purposes, and values explicit as well as develop their program accordingly.”
Shaw, J., Feeney, H., Meunier-Sham, J., Petricone, R., & Preiss, R. (2022). Using telehealth technology to serve patients reporting sexual assault: An evaluation of key teleSANE program features. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 18(4), 196-203.
AN EVALUATION OF A RAPID CONVERSION TO TELESANE IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19
“Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs) provide expert, comprehensive medical forensic care to patients who present for services following a sexual assault. Because SANEs are not consistently available, telehealth technology is being explored as a means to provide access to this expert care (i.e., teleSANE). During the COVID‐19 pandemic, teleSANE offered additional potential benefits by reducing the length of time spent and number of providers in patient exam rooms, the need for personal protective equipment that was in high demand and short supply, and provider anxiety related to providing in‐person care. In the summer of 2020, the Massachusetts SANE program rapidly and temporarily converted five hospitals from in‐person SANE care to teleSANE. An evaluation team interviewed 23 providers using a rapid research and evaluation methods approach to assess the temporary model and inform the future of SANE care. Evaluation findings reveal it is possible to rapidly and temporarily convert hospitals from in‐person to teleSANE care in a time of broad uncertainty, and that such a change requires intensive and thoughtful planning; a shared commitment to being supportive, flexible, and responsive; and specific experience and expertise. Considerations for communities exploring how best to ensure consistent, equitable access to SANEs are discussed.”
Shaw, J., Feeney, H., Meunier-Sham, J., Hazard, K., Plante, P., & Petricone, R. (2022). An evaluation of a rapid conversion to teleSANE in response to Covid-19. American Journal of Community Psychology, 70(3-4), 458-474.
“Many schools of social work offer courses on program evaluation. However, one component of program evaluation—theories of evaluation—may all too often be left out of the curriculum. This Teaching Note defines and describes evaluation theory and the benefits of including it in a program evaluation curriculum in schools of social work. Specific ideas for incorporating this content into MSW and doctoral courses in schools of social work are provided.”
Shaw, J. (2019). Teaching note: A call for including theories of evaluation in program evaluation courses taught in schools of social work. Journal of Social Work Education, 55(3), 596-601.
“Throughout the United States, hundreds of thousands of sexual assault kits (SAKs) have not been submitted by the police for forensic DNA testing, which raises complex issues regarding how victims ought to be notified about what happened to their kits. In this project, we evaluated a victim-centered, trauma-informed victim notification protocol that was implemented in Detroit, Michigan. Most victims (84%) did not have a strong negative emotional reaction to notification, and most (57%) decided to reengage with the criminal justice system. Victims of nonstranger sexual assaults were less likely to reengage postnotification compared with victims of stranger rape.”
Campbell, R., Shaw, J., & Fehler-Cabral, G. (2018). Evaluation of a victim-centered, trauma-informed victim notification protocol for untested sexual assault kits (SAKs). Violence Against Women 24(4), 379-400.
BRINGING RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE: AN EVALUATION OF MICHIGAN’S PILOT SEXUAL ASSAULT KIT (SAK)
“The importance of research-informed practice for the field of sexual assault has been stressed by academics and practitioners alike. However, there are few examples of researcher-practitioner partnerships in the literature, therefore providing minimal guidance for this process. This article describes a researcher-practitioner partnership that was successful in using evaluation data to guide practice and policy decisions regarding the development and implementation of a new sexual assault kit for the state of Michigan. Cousins’s practical participatory evaluation theory was used as the guiding framework for the evaluation. Data collection methods included focus groups with practitioners from five, regionally dispersed health care settings in Michigan, and surveys with forensic scientists throughout the state’s regional laboratory system. This case study highlights how researchers and practitioners worked together for data collection, analysis, and dissemination to support research-informed practice in this state. Lessons learned and future recommendations for forming researcher-practitioner partnerships to improve the response to sexual assault are discussed.”
Shaw, J., Campbell, R., Hagstrom, J., O’Reilly, L., Kreiger, G., Cain, D., & Nye, J. (2016). Bringing research into practice: An evaluation of Michigan’s pilot sexual assault kit (SAK). Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 31(8), 1476-1500.
RE-EVALUATING SEXUAL VIOLENCE PREVENTION THROUGH BYSTANDER EDUCATION: A LATENT GROWTH CURVE APPROACH
“Recently, there has been a call for more advanced analytic techniques in violence against women research, particularly in community interventions that use longitudinal designs. The current study re-evaluates experimental evaluation data from a sexual violence bystander intervention program. Using an exploratory latent growth curve approach, we were able to model the longitudinal growth trajectories of individual participants over the course of the entire study. Although the results largely confirm the original evaluation findings, the latent growth curve approach better fits the demands of “messy” data (e.g., missing data, varying number of time points per participant, and unequal time spacing within and between participants) that are frequently obtained during a community-based intervention. The benefits of modern statistical techniques to practitioners and researchers in the field of sexual violence prevention, and violence against women more generally, are further discussed.”
Shaw, J., & Janulis, P. (2016). Re-evaluating sexual violence prevention through bystander education: A latent growth curve approach. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 31(16), 2729-2750.
“Campbell and colleagues developed an evaluation Toolkit for use by sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs) to assess criminal case outcomes in adult sexual assault cases seen by SANE programs (Campbell, Townsend, Shaw, Karim, & Markowitz, 2014; Campbell, Bybee, et al., 2014). The Toolkit provides step-by-step directions and an easy-to-use statistical program. This study describes implementation of the Toolkit in Salt Lake County, the first site outside the pilot sites to utilize the program. The Toolkit revealed that, in Salt Lake County from 2003 to 2011, only 6% of adult sexual assault cases were successfully prosecuted. These findings prompted multiple community discussions, media attention, and a call to action to improve the investigation and prosecution of adult sexual assault cases. The primary purpose of this case report is to encourage other SANE teams and communities to use the Toolkit by sharing the successful experience of Salt Lake County in implementing the Toolkit.”
Valentine, J., Shaw, J., Lark, A., & Campbell, R. (2016). Now we know: Assessing sexual assault criminal justice case processing in an urban community using the Sexual Assault Nurse Practitioner Evaluation Toolkit. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 12(3), 133-140.
“In large-scale, multi-site contexts, developing and disseminating practitioner-oriented evaluation toolkits are an increasingly common strategy for building evaluation capacity. Toolkits explain the evaluation process, present evaluation design choices, and offer step-by-step guidance to practitioners. To date, there has been limited research on whether such resources truly foster the successful design, implementation, and use of evaluation findings. In this paper, we describe a multi-site project in which we developed a practitioner evaluation toolkit and then studied the extent to which the toolkit and accompanying technical assistance was effective in promoting successful completion of local-level evaluations and fostering instrumental use of the findings (i.e., whether programs directly used their findings to improve practice, see Patton, 2008). Forensic nurse practitioners from six geographically dispersed service programs completed methodologically rigorous evaluations; furthermore, all six programs used the findings to create programmatic and community-level changes to improve local practice. Implications for evaluation capacity building are discussed.”
Campbell, R., Townsend, S., Shaw, J., Karim, N., & Markowitz, J. (2015). Can a workbook work?: Developing a practitioner toolkit to promote evaluation use in a multi-site project. Evaluation and Program Planning, 52, 107-117.
“In large-scale, multi-site contexts, developing and disseminating practitioner-oriented evaluation toolkits are an increasingly common strategy for building evaluation capacity. Toolkits explain the evaluation process, present evaluation design choices, and offer step-by-step guidance to practitioners. To date, there has been limited research on whether such resources truly foster the successful design, implementation, and use of evaluation findings. In this paper, we describe a multi-site project in which we developed a practitioner evaluation toolkit and then studied the extent to which the toolkit and accompanying technical assistance was effective in promoting successful completion of local-level evaluations and fostering instrumental use of the findings (i.e., whether programs directly used their findings to improve practice, see Patton, 2008). Forensic nurse practitioners from six geographically dispersed service programs completed methodologically rigorous evaluations; furthermore, all six programs used the findings to create programmatic and community-level changes to improve local practice. Implications for evaluation capacity building are discussed.”
Campbell, R., Townsend, S., Shaw, J., Karim, N., & Markowitz, J. (2014). Evaluating the legal impact of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) programs: An empirically-validated toolkit for practitioners. Journal of Forensic Nursing 10(4), 208-216.
THE “PROCESS” OF PROCESS USE: METHODS FOR LONGITUDINAL ASSESSMENT IN A MULTI-SITE EVALUATION
“Process use refers to the ways in which stakeholders and/or evaluands change as a function of participating in evaluation activities. Although the concept of process use has been well discussed in the literature, exploration of methodological strategies for the measurement and assessment of process use has been limited. Typically, empirical research on process use has been limited to cross-sectional studies in single-site evaluation projects. In this method note, we present a longitudinal study of process use in a multisite evaluation project. Stakeholders’ changes in learning, attitudes, and behavior/action were assessed at three time points: prior to the onset of evaluation consultation; near the conclusion of a 1-year participatory consultation project; and 6–8 weeks after the termination of the project. Results showed that different domains of process use had differential development over time. Implications for measuring process use are discussed.”
Shaw, J., & Campbell, R. (2014). The “process” of process use: Methods for longitudinal assessment in a multi-site evaluation. American Journal of Evaluation, 35(2), 250-260.