Who Supports the People Supporting Survivors?

The weight responders carry

Responding to sexual and gender-based violence requires more than professional knowledge. It demands patience, empathy and the ability to remain present while another person recounts a traumatic experience.

Repeated exposure to other people’s trauma can contribute to secondary traumatic stress or vicarious trauma. The effects may appear gradually:

• Constant fatigue
• Irritability or difficulty concentrating
• Feeling emotionally numb or detached
• Avoiding certain cases or conversations
• Feeling helpless or overwhelmed
• Dreading the start of another working day

These experiences are not distant from the Nigerian context. A 2024 study published in the Nigerian Journal of Social Psychology surveyed 323 registered Nigerian social workers who supported people affected by trauma. Most respondents reported experiencing secondary traumatic stress, while nearly two-thirds said their organisations did not provide psychosocial support to help them manage it.

Experiencing these effects does not mean a responder is weak or incapable. It means they are human and have been carrying something heavy without always having a safe place to put it down.

For people whose job is to listen to trauma, there must be somewhere they can be heard too.

Why responder wellbeing is a survivor issue

Responder wellbeing is sometimes treated as a private matter that individuals should manage outside work. But its effects do not remain private.

An exhausted counsellor may struggle to remain patient with a survivor who needs time to tell her story. An overwhelmed police officer may find it difficult to offer reassurance during a survivor’s first interaction with the justice system. A social worker managing too many cases may be unable to provide consistent follow-up.

This does not mean these responders have stopped caring. Many continue to do their best under extremely difficult conditions. But care alone cannot compensate indefinitely for exhaustion, excessive workloads and inadequate institutional support.

Supporting the people who respond to SGBV is part of supporting survivors.

When responders are supported, they are better able to listen carefully, communicate with empathy, make sound decisions and remain engaged with difficult cases.

When the system loses experienced responders

Burnout can eventually push skilled professionals out of the SGBV response sector. When an experienced Sexual Assault Referral Centre counsellor, investigator, healthcare professional or legal aid provider leaves, the system loses years of knowledge, trusted relationships and practical experience.

Breaking this cycle requires institutions to act.

What institutions can do now

Meaningful support does not have to be complicated, but it must be deliberate.

• Provide confidential support. Offer regular counselling and psychological support, not only after someone reaches breaking point.
• Make supervision routine. Use structured supervision, peer support and facilitated debriefing to help responders process difficult cases.
• Review workloads and staffing. No amount of resilience training can compensate for chronic understaffing or impossible caseloads.
• Make wellbeing an institutional responsibility. Train supervisors, normalise seeking help and include responder wellbeing in policies, plans and budgets.

The World Health Organization identifies excessive workloads, understaffing and limited workplace support as risks to mental health. Guidance from the Office for Victims of Crime also highlights regular supervision as an important way to reduce the effects of trauma exposure, burnout and low morale.

Sometimes the most effective mental health intervention is not another resilience workshop. Sometimes it is hiring another person.

Building a system that can keep responding

Resilience matters. Training matters. Personal self-care matters. But these cannot replace properly staffed and supportive institutions.

A referral pathway is only as effective as the people helping survivors navigate it. A SARC is only as strong as the professionals providing its services. A policy only becomes meaningful when trained and supported people can put it into practice.

Taking responder wellbeing seriously does not take attention away from survivors. It is one of the ways we take survivors seriously.

If you manage, supervise or fund an SGBV response institution, ask:

• Do responders have confidential psychological support?
• Are workloads and staffing levels regularly reviewed?
• Can staff ask for help without being judged?
• Is responder wellbeing included in the budget?

Survivors deserve a system that does more than respond today. They deserve one that can keep responding – with compassion, professionalism and care – for the long term. And the people providing that care deserve support too.