Building Bridges: Conflict Resolution Protocols for Sexual Assault Response Teams

Conflict is inevitable. In fact, conflict is natural and necessary for effective collaboration! Due to the nature of multi-disciplinary teams, there will inevitably be moments of tension so it’s important to have a plan in place for how your team will work through that tension and conflict.

One strategy that sexual assault response teams (SARTs) can implement is to develop a formal process for how to handle conflict and disagreements through the development of a conflict resolution protocol. A conflict resolution protocol is a plan for how your SART can address conflicts constructively while prioritizing the well-being of victims/survivors and the effectiveness of the team.