The dynamics of the sexual assault team in Malta

Abstract

Sexual assault teams are interdisciplinary teams composed of various professionals with different professional training and experience, who care and support rape victims in a forensically secure environment. Understanding the dynamics of such a team is necessary for the team to interact if a good service is to be provided. No studies on the dynamics of sexual assault teams were retrieved, however the literature reviewed regarded team working in different backgrounds, as this provided insight into the nature of teams. Literature regarding sexual assault teams was restricted to the roles of team members, and the nature and effectiveness of such teams. The aim of this study is to understand the dynamics of the sexual assault team in Malta as perceived by various professionals, including nurses, hospital management, gynaecologists, police officers, social workers, as well as a psychologist. A single qualitative case study was the method chosen to obtain information on the dynamics of such a team locally. The case being studied is the group of professionals who are currently involved as well as others who should be involved in the handling of female rape victims in Malta. In-depth, semi structured interviews using open-ended questions were used with these different professional groups. Content analysis was then used to analyse the data collected. The results indicated that there is a great amount of confusion of roles amongst the various professionals and this led to certain conflicts amongst them. These issues of confusion and thus conflicts may be explained due to the issue of power that revolves around these roles that the professionals hold. Also the organisation from where the various professionals come: from inflicts this power upon its professionals. Thus, from these results recommendations for management regarding role clarity were discussed, together with recommendations for future research so greater knowledge may be obtained regarding this subject.