The Picture of Texas

The Texas domestic violence workforce is incredibly dedicated, resourceful, and committed to survivors. Survivors met with their advocate an average of two times per week, talked with them on the phone at least once a week, and overwhelmingly felt satisfied with the time and effort their advocate dedicated to them. A recent study of 530 Texas-based family violence and rape crisis staff members revealed that lower pay, high burnout, and lower supervision satisfaction was associated with advocates wanting to leave their jobs1. One advocate described the stress of having to prioritize clients: “You’re looking out for 200-plus cases. Some people more. So, when everyone has these immediate needs…And, it’s very difficult. And our time – it feels like there’s not enough time.”

Over 50% of advocates had personal experience of sexual assault, intimate partner violence, or trafficking as an adult, and 58% reported being victimized as a child¹. This lived experience can lead to a strong commitment to their work, as well as meeting a key recommendation from survivors to have support from people who have been through similar experiences. To compound stressors, a large proportion of program staff (30%) have experienced or witnessed a microaggression based on race or ethnicity in the workplace¹. Microaggressions are defined as brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative slights and insults². Microaggressions negatively impact an advocate’s ability to feel safe in their workplace, which compromises their advocacy and ability to support survivors. Combining the challenging work environment, discrimination and microaggressions in the workplace, and possible personal experience, advocates of color in Texas face an especially harsh reality.

¹ Wood, L., Wachter, K., Wang, A., Kammer-Kerwick, M., & Busch-Armendariz, N. (2018). VOICE: Victim Service Occupation, Information, and Compensation Experiences Survey (Summary of Findings).

² Sue, D. W. (2010, November 17). Microagressions: More than Just Race. Psychology Today. Retrieved from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/microaggressions-in-everyday-life/201011/microaggressions-more-just-race

This incredibly dedicated pool of staff should be valued and built up within each agency through wellness activities and internal supports, possibly through employee assistance programs, paid time off, access to personal or group mental health resources, and/or higher salaries. Greater societal awareness and respect for “helping professions” in the future could lead to higher salary allowances in grants and better working conditions. As one staff member plainly put, “Pay us more.” Domestic violence programs can provide greater support and targeted hiring practices for both advocates with lived experiences and advocates of color. The domestic violence movement was born from women standing up for other women and building relationships. The move to increased professionalization of the movement, giving preference to formal education over lived experience, may have serious, negative consequences in the long-term by ignoring survivors’ preference for peer support and advocates with diverse racial backgrounds.

Almost all of the staff interviewed stressed the immense support they get from their colleagues, which led to positive feelings about their work culture, even in times of stress. Much of this support came from supervisors who encouraged their employees to learn, created spaces for them to process feelings, and built in time for fun activities that led to staff bonding. These findings underscore the important impact organizations have on staff wellness and the relationship of staff wellness to service quality.