Secondary Trauma and Qualitative Research: Trauma Sensitivity in Research on Sexualized Violence

Abstract

In this article, I address secondary traumatization in the field of qualitative research on sexualized violence. Although traumatization is inevitable in this kind of research, little attention is paid to its role in qualitative research in German-speaking countries, in contrast to international research. Based on this assumption, I introduce the approaches of psychotraumatology and its concepts of secondary traumatization, compassion fatigue, and vicarious trauma. Following Georg SIMMEL, Max WEBER, Georges DEVEREUX, and the feminist tradition, I connect these with reflections on the epistemological possibilities of the vulnerability of the researcher. I argue that in trauma-sensitive qualitative research, especially in the field of sensitive topics (e.g., violence, abuse, or neglect), the focus should be on the researcher's burdens and, above all, on the researcher's epistemological resources.