Ms Taine Te Miha1, Dr Nichola Tyler2, Professor Yvette Tinsley1
1Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand, 2Centre For Forensic Behavioural Science, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia
Biography:
Dr Nichola Tyler is a Senior Lecturer in Forensic Psychology at the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science. Nichola’s research focuses on improving understanding, assessment, and prevention of deliberate firesetting and arson, and justice professionals' wellbeing.
Abstract:
The criminal justice system (CJS) is a trauma-permeated environment. However, little attention has been paid to the impacts of this trauma exposure on legal professionals. In New Zealand, Crown prosecutors (CPs) play a unique role in the CJS, working predominantly with serious violence and sexual violence offences. However, CPs have been largely neglected from vicarious trauma research. Emerging empirical evidence suggests that sexual violence trauma has a particularly profound impact on legal professionals, and that female professionals may have a greater susceptibility to the development of VT than males; yet no research to date has focused on female CPs experiences of working with sexual trauma. This study qualitatively explored the lived experiences of six female CPs working with sexual trauma in the New Zealand CJS. Data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Three themes were developed from the data: Navigating the Emotional and Legal Aspects of the Role Without a Compass, The Added Impacts of Working with Sexual Trauma, and Factors Influencing Wellbeing and Help Seeking. These themes highlight that female CPs experience significant psychological impacts from role-specific occupational stressors and exposure to traumatic material. Working with sexual trauma was found to have an additive effect, exacerbating existing difficulties and consequences of working with traumatic material more broadly. Individual, professional and organizational factors were found to either alleviate or exacerbate these stressors and their impacts. Effective policy and practice that addresses the unique experiences of female CPs who work with sexual trauma is urgently required.