Information Sheet
You are invited to participate in the research study, 'A multi-perspective exploration of autistic victim-survivors of rape and serious sexual offences.' This form aims to provide clear, detailed information about this project, which is being conducted by a PhD Psychology student at the University of Bath. This form includes information about the background and objectives of this study, eligibility criteria, what participation will involve, and potential risks. Please read carefully and feel free to contact the researcher for any queries or clarifications.
1. What does this project aim to do?
This project is being conducted by a PhD Psychology student at the University of Bath. This study aims to understand the experiences of autistic victim-survivors of sexual abuse and rape and serious sexual offences and their parents/supporters within the criminal justice system (a term for public bodies, such as the courts, the Crown Prosecution Service, the police, HM Prison Service, and the Probation Service).
Specifically, the study aims to understand autistic victim-survivors': (1) motivation in reporting what happened; (2) experiences of going through the criminal justice system (from the beginning to end); (3) challenges they faced related to their autism; (4) people/support network; (5) recommendations, such as changes they would like to see within the criminal justice system.
2. To participate:
You are eligible to participate if you are autistic, and either have a formal diagnosis of autism (or Asperger's) or self-identify as autistic (or Asperger's). You are eligible to participate if you are a victim-survivor of sexual abuse and/or rape and serious sexual offences. You are eligible to participate if you have gone through the UK criminal justice system due to being a victim-survivor of sexual abuse and/or rape and serious sexual offences. Lastly, you must have been 18 years or older when the sexual abuse and/or rape and serious sexual offence(s) happened.
Participants who are parents/supporters of autistic victim-survivors must have experienced the UK criminal justice system with their child (or person they supported), who was 18 years or older at the time the sexual offence happened.
3. You cannot participate if:
You are not able to talk verbally in English with the interviewer about your experiences. Cases must not be under active investigation/pending court.
4. Is taking part compulsory?
No. Taking part in the study is entirely voluntary.
5. What will participants have to do?
If you choose to participate, you will be interviewed about your experiences within the criminal justice system as victim-survivors of sexual abuse and/or rape and serious sexual offences, or as a parent/supporter. You can decide whether this will occur on MS Teams or at the University of Bath Centre for Applied Autism Research (CAAR).
6. Are there any risks of partaking in the study?
Since this study will involve talking about your experience within the criminal justice system as a victim-survivor of sexual abuse and/or rape and serious sexual offences, or as a parent/supporter, anxiety and distress in thinking and talking about these experiences might arise. If you think this may be too much, participating in the study might not be for you. In the debrief, there are links to resources that might help you after the study (if you participate).
7. What will happen to participants' responses/answers (data)?
Interviews will be audio-recorded. The researcher will then transcribe the interview and delete the audio recording two weeks after taking part, by which time you will be given pseudonyms for any future publications. After this, the transcription will be sent to a secure University of Bath system, where it will be stored for 10 years. During this 10-year period, there may be plans to report anonymised extracts and analyses from this data in an academic article/journal.
8. Can participants withdraw from the study?
You can withdraw from the study at any time without providing a reason or facing any consequences. If you wish to withdraw their data, you can contact the researcher via email within two weeks of the interview. After this point, your data will be fully anonymised.
9. Has the study been reviewed for ethics?
The study has been reviewed and approved by the University of Bath Psychology Research Ethics Committee (Reference: 14392-19878).
10. Who can participants ask if they have any questions or concerns?
For any questions or concerns, you can contact the lead researcher, Connor Cameron, at [email protected]. If the researcher does not provide you with clear and satisfactory answers or if you have a complaint, you should reach out to the Research Governance and Compliance Team at [email protected].
11. Participants disclosing information
Disclosures or concerns may need to be reported to the relevant authorities if deemed necessary. Disclosures such as revealing who sexually abused you or your child or person(s) you supported, and the name of the person(s). In essence, any details that reveal who sexually abused (or RaSSO) the victim-survivor, the location, and if it has not previously been reported.
12. Is your case still under investigation?
If your case is still under investigation or awaiting a judicial outcome, unfortunately, you are not eligible to take part.
13. Will I get reimbursed?
Yes. You will get £15 for participating.
Lastly, if participants want more information about how their data is managed, please see the link: https://www.bath.ac.uk/legal-information/university-of-bath-privacy-notice-for-research-participants/
Should you have any concerns or questions about the research, please contact the lead researcher using the contact details below.
Furthermore, if you have been affected by anything in the study, please use the following contacts for further help and support:
University of Bath Medical Centre phone number: 01225 789100.
Samaritans, Phone: 116 123 (24 hours), Email: [email protected]
Mental Health Matters, Phone: 0800 107 0160 (24 hours), Webchat: https://www.mhm.org.uk/helpline-webchat
If you need urgent help or feel as though you cannot keep yourself safe, please contact: The CRISIS Team: 0300 222 0123 (24 hours)
Your own GP or out-of-hours GP on 111
The emergency services: 999
If you need support concerning being a victim-survivor of sexual abuse and rape and serious sexual offences, or a parent/supporter, please visit:
https://rapecrisis.org.uk/
https://supportforsurvivors.org/
https://www.sarsas.org.uk/
https://helpforsurvivors.org/
help-parents-caregivers-children/ 
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