When Institutions Betray: A New Research Review

By Kim-Chi Pham, Maria-Ernestina, Adi Rosenthal, & Anne DePrince
Trauma Research Notes
4 min read

“One of the few people that I told that I was being sexually harassed was one of the most vocal and prominent advocates for Asian Americans. And I sort of told him, as a testing ground, to see if he would believe me.”

“And he just looked at me like my dog died and then never asked at anything again. And a week later, I saw him introducing my abuser on an Asian American panel with the most profuse praise, and it felt like such a betrayal. And I’m like, ‘if even he doesn’t believe me, who is going to believe me?”

Taiwanese-American actress, Constance Wu, speaking on her experience reporting sexual intimidation, harassment, and assault by a producer of Fresh Off the Boat, a critically acclaimed show in which she starred.

As a result of her perpetrator’s influence and notoriety, Wu’s allegations against him were ignored and she was told to let it go, victim-blamed, and ridiculed for even considering going public with her experiences of workplace sexual harassment. The vitriol, shame, and threats she received from not only colleagues but also audiences outside of the entertainment industry led her to step away from acting and Holywood for three years.

Stories of workplace sexual misconduct such as Wu’s are far too common – as is the experience of being rejected or punished for disclosing by colleagues, administrators, and superiors. So common, in fact, that psychologist Jennfier Freyd and her colleagues coined the term institutional betrayal (IB) to describe institutional (e.g., university, workplace, religious institutions) actions that failed to take appropriate steps to prevent an interpersonal trauma from occurring and/or responmyding adequately, such as firing an employee for reporting experiences of sexual harassment or perpetuating rape culture within a university.

Since the term IB came was introduced, researchers have turned attention to the costs associated with institutional betrayal. To make sense of this growing literature, our team put together a scoping review that focused on study characteristics and key findings of empirical studies, with the hopes of guiding research and practice going forward.

We identified and carefully coded 37 peer-reviewed empirical research articles and dissertations on institutional betrayal from 2011 to 2022, reported in a hot-off-the-presses publication. Here are a few take-aways from what we found.

Institutional Contexts and Prevalence. The majority of empirical studies of IB looked at military, university and healthcare settings. In those institutional contexts, the studies reviewed documented alarming rates of IB after interpersonal trauma. However, few studies have examined IB in diverse institutional settings, such as the entertainment industry, afterschool programs, freelance work/gigs.

Psychological Distress. Across 15 studies that examined at least one mental health outcome, there was a consistent pattern: IB on top of interpersonal trauma was linked with more psychological distress than interpersonal trauma alone. For example, Smith and Freyd (2013) reported that college women who experienced both sexual assault and IB reported higher levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms than those who did not experience IB.

A Range of Outcomes. Multiple studies found that experiences of IB were linked with action and attachment to institutions, such as engaging in campus sexual assault activism and seeking help. Additionally, IB was linked with absenteeism, burnout, physical health, lower self-esteem, less perceived safety, and worse academic performance.

Identity and IB. Five articles reported on the role of social identities, documenting increased IB among people from marginalized and minoritized backgrounds, such as people from sexual and gender minority groups and ethnic minority groups. Only two articles examined the role of intersectional identities and institutional betrayal.

Call to Action

Our scoping review found that institutional betrayal is ubiquitous and linked with multiple forms of harm, including both physical and psychological health problems as well as career consequences – just as Constance Wu described.

As important as the studies to date are, more research is needed to address notable gaps. For example, little research has focused on institutional leaders themselves at a time when institutional courage is urgently needed. What inspires leaders to recognize that institutional betrayal can arise from action and inaction – and work to ensure that their institutional policies reflect preventative initiatives and post-trauma support? And how do the people who belong to institutions, regardless of hierarchy, understand their actions (and inactions) as contributing to a culture of IB or courage?  

Constance Wu released a collection of essays back in October 2022 titled Making a Scene. Among other things, Wu shared her experiences of workplace sexual harassment and the role of institutional betrayal behind her decision to walk away from acting and her severe depression which led to an attempted suicide. Her memoir has received overwhelming support from friends, colleagues, and fans. When speaking about how she wished initial reactions to her disclosure was met with more empathy and support and less judgment and ridicule, Wu urged, “Don’t think about the girl making a scene. Think about the scenes that made the girl.”

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Citation: Christl, M-E., Pham, K-C.T., Rosenthal, A., & DePrince, A.P. (2024). When institutions harm those who depend on them: A scoping review of institutional betrayal. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse, online ahead of print. 10.1177/15248380241226627. For an electronic copy of this article, please reach out to anne.deprince@du.edu.