Acessibility of Civil Legal Services for Survivors in Illinois​, 

Kayleigh E. Zinter, PhD

Program: Community Psychology Doctoral Program

DePaul University

Chicago IL

October 2023

Project Overview

This project assesses sexual assault survivors' experiences of Illinois civil legal system accessibility. This two-part community-based research study has been conceptualized, created, and informed by input from university and state social science researchers, civil legal system service providers, and survivors in Illinois. Thus, findings will be applicable to the focal community (sexual assault survivors in Illinois). To examine geographic accessibility, and how accessibility influences survivor interactions with civil legal service providers and outcomes, several methodologies were employed. The first study utilized R-ArcGIS conduct spatial analyses of civil legal service providers geographic accessibility across Illinois by county. The second employed focus group interviews to assess how legal advocates perceived survivors' experienced civil legal service accessibility in Illinois.

Proposed Project Goals

1. Develop and disseminate survey of survivors' experiences with the civil legal system in Illinois.

2. Clean and analyze survey data related to survivors' perceptions of civil legal system accessibility and satisfaction with civil legal outcomes and service providers.

3. Create a GIS map in R of civil legal system geographic accessibility in Illinois.

4. Share findings with community partner and disseminate.

Accomplished Project Goals

              This project had four original primary goals. During the course of the academic year, these goals were adjusted to better reflect the time available for the fellow to complete them. This resulted in goal two, “clean and analyze survey data related to survivors' perceptions of civil legal system accessibility and satisfaction with civil legal outcomes and service providers" being omitted and replaced with “qualitatively analyze legal advocates perceptions of civil legal service accessibility for survivors of SA in Illinois." All other goals remained the same.

              As of October 2023, the survivor survey (goal one) has been developed and is currently being disseminated to survivors across Illinois; focus group data (adjusted goal two) has been analyzed to better understand civil legal accessibility for survivors; several GIS maps (goal three) have been created, and geographic accessibility of civil legal service providers in Illinois has been analyzed; and preliminary findings (as well as my dissertation) have been shared with my community partner. I am currently in the process of developing one-pager information sheets, as well as a brief report in addition to orally sharing findings (goal four). Further, I am scheduled to present findings from this study for ICASA and their advocates in November 2023.

Project Challenges

The biggest and most salient challenges this project encountered were related to project timeline. The project did not progress according to timeline for several reasons, the first being we had an ambitious timeline, with a lot of goals we hoped to accomplish in around nine months.  I believe I underestimated the time it would take to create a novel, trauma informed, survey for survivors that reflected both community partner data needs and interests, as well as research best practices. This process took much longer than anticipated, which in turn delayed IRB submission, as well as survey dissemination. In addition to ambitious timeline, issues related to fellow and faculty mentor health and sickness throughout the year further delayed project deliverables due to limited bandwidth, competing responsibilities and navigating illness while trying to remain productive.

Project Next Steps

This project has two primary next steps. First, I am currently working on creating and finalizing dissemination materials to share with the community partner, as well as developing a presentation for them. Second, while “Clean and analyze survey data related to survivors' perceptions of civil legal system accessibility and satisfaction with civil legal outcomes and service providers" (original goal two) was not feasible during this time frame, this is still an on-going project and these data once collected will also be analyzed and shared with the community partner.

Project Impact

This project focused on addressing two United Nations Social Sustainable Development Goals: 1) Goal Five, Gender Equality and 2) Goal 10, Reduced Inequalities.

Gender-based violence is a pervasive issue that impacts gender equality across the globe. Improving services for survivors of violence against women and girls is of utmost importance when attempting to promote gender equality on a global scale. According to the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey Brief Report (2018), 43.6% of women and 24.7% of men experience some form of sexual violence in their lifetime in the United States (U.S). Further, the survey indicates 21.3% of women and 2.6% of men reported completed or attempted rape, with 7.1% of men also reporting being forced to engage in penetration. While this study does not account for trans or non-binary folx who experience sexual violence at drastically higher rates than the general population (Jordan et al., 2020), or individuals who do not feel comfortable reporting their experiences with sexual violence (Russell & Hand, 2017), it clearly indicates that sexual victimization is a serious issue in the United States. In the state of Illinois specifically, according to The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2010-2012 State Report (2017), approximately 36.6% of adult women reported experiencing sexual violence, with 17.5% reporting attempted or completed rape while 14.6% of male survivors report experiencing sexual violence. Additionally, extant research suggests survivors who seek post-assault services receive differentiated treatment based on type of assault, socieo-economic status, and identity (Campbell et al., 2001; Jordan et al., 2020; Sit & Stermac, 2021; Suap et al., 2021). As such, ensuring safe, comprehensive and equitable service provision for all survivors of sexual violence is of utmost concern and focus for ICASA as victim service providers in Illinois.

This project focused on identifying factors that impact accessibility and improving service provision of civil legal services for survivors of gender-based violence. By creating a map of civil legal system geographic, we were able identify underserved counties and regions across Illinois where survivors may struggle to access civil legal services due to the geographic limitations of the civil legal system. Additionally, by analyzing legal advocate focus group data, we were able to learn about access barriers survivors experience while pursuing civil legal services. Historically Black folks and other people of color, LGBTQIA+ people, individuals living in poverty, and persons with multiply-marginalized identities are disproportionately represented as survivors of sexual violence; however they engage in service seeking at diminished rates and report more access barriers related to post-assault need attainment (Jordan et al., 2020; Sit & Stermac, 2021; Sualp et al., 2021). Thus, this project, in revealing access barriers that exist for survivors, will hopefully lead to disparities in civil legal system accessibility across Illinois that impact survivors who are part of communities that have been intentionally marginalized, underserved, and under-invested in historically being addressed.

Survivors of sexual assault require specific services, and formal helping systems are notoriously difficult for survivors to navigate due to inaccessibility and lack of trauma-informed practices  (Bouffard et al., 2017; Campbell et al., 2001). ICASA works every day to improve gender equality and equity in legal service-delivery across Illinois for survivors of gender-based violence. To improve civil legal service provision, it is essential to understand how accessible the civil legal system and civil legal service providers are for survivors. Information derived from this study identifies factors that promote accessibility and survivor engagement in civil legal need attainment. Results from this study will be utilized by the community partner to focus on geographic areas where survivors struggle with accessing the civil legal system. Thus, inequities in service provision will be reduced across Illinois. ICASA is committed to ensuring all survivors in Illinois have fair and equitable access to legal services and post-assault supports. This study identifies regional systemic and/or ICASA organizational barriers that impact survivors' ability to obtain civil legal services safely and effectively. Results from this study will aid ICASA in their work toward improving civil legal service provision for all survivors in Illinois. Further, this study has policy implications for the state of Illinois. ICASA intends to use results to advocate for improved provisions for survivors of sexual violence. This project has the potential to impact survivors across Illinois, as well as state policy. Thus, this project will impact systemic change in Illinois around improving equitable access to services for survivors of sexual assault/gender-based violence.

References

Bouffard, L. A., Nobles, M. R., Goodson, A., Brinser, K., Koeppel, M., Marchbanks, M. P., & Chaudhuri, N. (2017). Service providers' knowledge and perceptions of the legal service needs of crime victims. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 42(3), 589–609. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-016-9374-2

Campbell, R., Wasco, S. M., Ahrens, C. E., Sefl, T., & Barnes, H. E. (2001). Preventing the “second rape": Rape survivors' experiences with community service providers. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 16(12), 1239-1259.

Greeson, M. R. & Zinter, K. E. (2022). Emerging Research on Advocates' Experiences Assisting Survivors with Obtaining Help from the Civil Legal System. Workshop presented at the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault 2022 Statewide Sexual Assault Conference. 

Jordan, S. P., Mehrotra, G. R., & Fujikawa, K. A. (2020). Mandating inclusion: Critical trans perspectives on domestic and sexual violence advocacy. Violence Against Women, 26(6–7), 531–554. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801219836728

Russell, K. J., & Hand, C. J. (2017). Rape myth acceptance, victim blame attribution and Just World Beliefs: A rapid evidence assessment. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 37, 153–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2017.10.008

Sit, V., & Stermac, L. (2021). Improving formal support after sexual assault: Recommendations from survivors living in poverty in Canada. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(3–4), 1823–1843. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260517744761

Sualp, K., Forgetta, S., Anderson, K., Revell, J., & Godbee, B. (2021). “Let's not talk about it:" Multiple perspectives on service barriers and recommendations for black sexual assault survivors: A mixed-methods study. Journal of Social Service Research, 47(1), 118–130. https://doi.org/10.1080/01488376.2020.1725218

The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2010-2012 State Report. (2017). 272.

The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2015 Data Brief—Updated Release. (2018). 

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