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Interviews with Victims

Contents and questions
Parallel to the student survey, the young people will be asked about their victimization experiences, any repercussions of the assault(s) and their experiences using outreach projects and professional counseling. The interview will primarily focus on questions relating to the victim’s emotional and physical health.

Target group
The plan is to interview 200 ninth-graders who have fallen victim to various kinds of sexual violence and have volunteered to participate in the study.

Objectives
The interviews are intended to provide in-depth information on the effects of sexual abuse on young people and determine their current physical and emotional health. This should take place at a point in time when the abuse is not already decades in the past. We anticipate that the planned interviews will provide us with in-depth information on the emotional and physical effects of sexual abuse on adolescents.

Conducting the interviews
The one-on-one interviews are scheduled to take place from July 2009 to July 2010 at the participants’ homes or on the premises of the University Children’s Hospital Zurich. The interviews will last approx. 90 minutes and will be conducted by a clinical psychologist.

Results of the study
Initial results of the student survey are expected from the beginning of January 2011.