Study Finds Men and Women Victims Use Sexual Assault Hotlines for Different Purposes

A new study by researchers at the University of Georgia finds that men and women who access sexual assault telephone hotlines use these services differently. The research found that women victims of sexual assault were more likely to be seeking advice on accessing specific resources such as abortion services, legal services, and for how to determine if they were given drugs.

On the other hand, men who called sexual assault hotlines were more likely to use the services to vent their anger or tell their particular story to the counselor. Men tended not to use the hotline to seek resources and were more likely to hang up or disconnect from the hotline without receiving any information on where they should go for additional help. Stephen Young, a graduate student  in the School of Social Work at the University of Georgia and a co-author of the study, said that “female callers had less confusion about whether they were victims and more specific questions about resources.”

Jana Pruett, an instructor in the School of Social Work at the University of Georgia and a co-author of the study, stated that “it seems as though hotline workers could be better equipped with an understanding of themes we found amongst male callers, such as frequent hang-ups, fear of being judged, and questions about what constitutes assault. This could give them a chance to normalize these feelings and behaviors for male caller, thus building the rapport that is so critical to helping someone access additional resources.”