Volunteers Who Work with Survivors of Rape and Battering

Abstract

This study reports on a survey of female and male volunteers in rape crisis centers and shelters for battered women concerning various aspects of their volunteer experiences. We found that for both men and women the psychic or altruistic reasons for volunteering (i.e., to help others) were most important, followed by the political motivation of helping to stop the problem of rape or battering. We also found that women rate both of these motivations more highly than men. Female volunteers also held more liberal attitudes towards women's rights and roles, though men's responses also tended toward the liberal side of the scale. Both men and women felt highly accepted and satisfied wilh their volunteer experience, but few variables in the study explained the variance in men's or women's feelings of acceptance or satisfaction. Among the more useful findings were that men's satisfaction with their volunteer experience is highly related to their feelings of acceptance by staff members. Many of the volunteers rep...