Citizens for Community Safety: The Experience of Perceived Collective Efficacy Among Sexual Abuse Prevention Activists

Background and Purpose: Democracy thrives when grassroots initiatives transform private concerns into public action for the common good. This study advances social work science by exploring the perceived collective efficacy and lived experience of citizen activists in Israeli Sexual Abuse Prevention Teams (SAPTs); voluntary grassroots models navigating the tension between community responsibility and a lack of formal authority. While collective efficacy is a known predictor of community safety, its application in the sensitive domain of sexual abuse remains under-researched. The objective was to identify the internal and structural mechanisms that shape activists' belief in their ability to foster safer, more inclusive communities.

Methods: This qualitative study utilized a phenomenological approach with a multiple-case design to capture the lived experiences of SAPT members as distinct organizational cases. The sample included 17 activists (13 women, 4 men) from six diverse teams representing geographical locations (North, South, center, and periphery), religious affiliations (secular, religious, and mixed), and settlement types (kibbutzim, moshavim, communal, and urban). Data collected through semi-structured interviews were analyzed using cross-case thematic analysis (MAXQDA) to identify patterns of efficacy.

Results: The findings reveal that the experience of perceived collective efficacy exists along a continuum shaped by three dimensions: (1) Community Boundaries (mandate clarity); (2) Team Cohesion (internal resilience); and (3) Municipal Support (external legitimacy). A critical barrier is the "visibility-discretion tension": ethical confidentiality requirements in sexual abuse cases mask the team’s impact, often leading the community to perceive silence as inaction. Furthermore, ethno-social tensions and fear of cultural bias in fragmented urban settings can lead to internal paralysis, hindering a unified moral stance. In teams with low support or amorphous boundaries, activists described feeling like "social punching bags," leading to burnout.

Conclusions and Implications: This research provides a framework for driving social change by proposing a "Transformation of Visibility": shifting the operational focus from reactive case management to proactive "healthy sexuality" education. This approach calls for a broader shift in community social work, acknowledging SAPTs as vital agents of social change in addressing sexual abuse. Social work researchers and policymakers must prioritize "institutional anchoring" by strengthening the link between grassroots teams and municipal authorities across diverse settings. Beyond individual cases, creating robust partnerships stabilizes perceived collective efficacy and ensures that community safety is a shared responsibility. Ultimately, this ensures that community-based sexual abuse prevention is a protected, rigorous democratic practice that advances social justice and protects society.