Exploring shame, mental health, compassion, identity, and help-seeking in Black women who have experienced sexual violence

Background: Women of African and Caribbean descent are more likely to experience sexual violence than their counterparts and less likely to access mental health support post-sexual violence. Black women navigate a distinct sociopolitical
and cultural context that creates a unique intrapsychic and systemic experience of sexual violence. This can impact their mental health, identity, feelings of shame and help-seeking experiences, however, there has been little empirical exploration of this within the UK.

Aims: To investigate the associative, predictive, and moderating relationships between shame (internal and external), self-concept, self-compassion, psychological
distress, and psychological wellbeing in Black women who have experienced sexual violence. To explore how Black women understand their identity in relation to sexual violence and the factors that hinder and facilitate help-seeking experiences.

Methods: A mixed-methods design was employed to quantitatively explore relationships between shame (internal and external), self-concept, self-compassion, psychological distress, and psychological wellbeing via an online survey (N= 37). Five participants took part in semi-structured interviews to discuss identity and helpseeking experiences post-sexual violence.

Results: Higher levels of shame were associated with lower psychological wellbeing. Higher levels of self-compassion were associated with and predicted higher levels of wellbeing. However, self-compassion did not moderate the relationship between external shame and psychological distress. The 'Strength Paralleling Vulnerability' and ' "Not Designed for Us" ' themes showed help-seeking experiences were influenced by narratives of strength and obstructed by systemic barriers.

Conclusions: The quantitative findings suggest that Black women’s psychological wellbeing is particularly compromised following sexual violence. The 'strong Black woman' narrative can influence Black women's sense of identity and help-seeking. Help-seeking experiences were shown to be complex, silencing and influenced by sociocultural and political factors. The study’s findings have multilevel systemic clinical, policy and research implications.