Pre-Interaction Communication as Ethical Orientation in NGO Support for Survivors of Sexual Violence
Keywords:
pre-interaction communication, ethical orientation, trauma-informed practice NGO , practitioners, sexual violence, qualitative researchAbstract
Sexual violence continues to dominate reported cases involving women and children in Indonesia, placing sustained ethical demands on organisations that support survivors. While trauma-informed communication is often examined within direct interaction, limited attention has been given to the preparatory communicative work undertaken before engagement begins. This study explores how NGO practitioners conceptualise and enact pre-interaction communication when preparing to engage with survivors of sexual violence. Using a qualitative research design, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 NGO practitioners handling sexual violence cases. The data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, focusing on practitioners’ accounts of communicative preparation and ethical positioning prior to first encounters. The findings indicate that pre-interaction communication functions as an ethical and relational orientation rather than a peripheral stage of practice. Four interconnected dimensions were identified: communicative restraint and ethical waiting; emotional reflexive preparation; spatial and relational preparation; and informational and procedural ethical orientation. Through regulating the pace of interaction, arranging the physical and relational environment, and clarifying rights and available support while preserving survivors’ decision-making authority, practitioners seek to establish conditions for trust before substantive dialogue unfolds. By foregrounding the temporal dimension of communication, this study conceptualises pre-interaction preparation as ethical labour within trauma-informed NGO practice, highlighting its contribution to understanding how ethical and survivor-centred communication begins before direct engagement.
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