Research As Healing: Emerging Practices and Challenges from a Community-Engaged Study Led By Survivors of Sexual Violence

Introduction: Sexual violence and harassment affects more than 1 in 5 college students, with higher risk for women and LGBTQIA+ students. Increasingly, researchers such as Dr. Nadeeka Karunaratne (2023) are calling for new trauma-informed methodologies both to work with survivors and to promote healing among research team members who are survivors of sexual violence themselves. Yet scant research identifies strategies for student survivors to co-lead research studies, particularly when team members include undergraduate, Master’s, doctoral students, and faculty mentors.

Method: This study identifies methodological practices developed through reflexive memoing with 8 student and recent alumni members of Survivors + Allies, a UCLA student organization. Survivors + Allies recently concluded a statewide study, and research team members were asked the prompts: “How and in what ways did participating in Survivors + Allies’ research study feel healing for you?” and “What, if any, research practices or experiences felt disempowering or harmful to your healing?” The authors discussed their memos to identify methodological practices conducive to survivor healing.

Findings: We identified several thematically organized emerging practices that foster a sense of empowerment and healing within co-led student suvivor’s research about sexual violence, informed by the Socio-Ecological Model:

Individual: Participants emphasized the importance of protecting each research team member’s mental health and well-being throughout the study. Through regular and informal check-ins in team meetings, alongside intentional relationship-building, space was created for members to discuss their emotional needs and normalize stepping back when needed. Reflexive memoing enabled research team members to process difficult and potentially triggering material.

Interpersonal: Community building and emotional support were critical to the research team members’ sense of support. Participants emphasized affirming and validating one another’s lived experiences, particularly when engaging with sensitive research topics. They also discussed the value of building relationships beyond the research context and celebrating personal milestones. Establishing informal “buddy systems” between research team members provided additional support when navigating sensitive content, and fostered deeper personal relationships.

Organizational: Experiencing empowerment through capacity building and mentorship was critical. Research team members received scaffolded mentorship tailored to their needs and interests. Expert-led trainings built early-stage research members’ skillsets, including qualitative methods and trauma-informed interviewing. Team members reported feeling greater ownership and agency in the research process when they could see the impact of their work in publications, op-eds, and other public reports and advocacy.

Structural Barriers: Participants identified several structural challenges, including the emotional burden of engaging with triggering content, as well as tensions related to uneven distributions of labor and emotional work across team members, exacerbated when members simultaneously led advocacy and research efforts. Participants spoke to the lack of adequate funding to conduct and sustain research on difficult and personal topics within a student organizational model.

Implications: Research can be a form of healing for survivors of sexual violence, providing critical social support and community after trauma. Our findings expand emerging research to document concrete ways that both informal and formal practices can support survivor healing while conducting sexual violence research.