"Sexual assault is a global crime involving any form of unwanted sexual acts committed against an individual. Survivors of sexual assault have physical, mental, and other life needs that must be addressed to give them opportunities to recover from such traumatic experiences. Sexual assault agencies play an important role in providing relevant support services to improve outcomes of survivors. Despite the prevalence of sexual assault in minority communities, there are limited culturally specific interventions available to address the unique needs of survivors in these communities. Bearing this in mind, the current study investigates women's experience with a one-time, culturally specific brief intervention for African American survivors of sexual assault to identify which aspects of the intervention, if any, are viewed by the women as being particularly helpful. The study utilized a qualitative phenomenological approach. In-depth individual interviews were completed with nine African American women who have participated in the Healing is Possible (HIP) brief, group-based, culturally specific sexual assault intervention offered by the SASHA Center to better understand the perceived value of the intervention to participants. Data were analyzed utilizing thematic analysis. All participants identified culturally specific components of the intervention that were beneficial to their experience with the intervention. The women also identified several ways in which they believed the intervention had positively improved their quality of life. By closely examining the experiences of women with a culturally specific brief intervention, this study sheds new light on the value of culturally specific sexual assault services."--Page ii.
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