Introduction
The aim of the study is to explore how sexual violence is understood and experienced by victim-survivors at the intersection of gender and class. The study is being conducted by Dr Karen Lorimer at Glasgow Caledonian University and Professor Lesley McMillan.
Before you decide whether or not to take part, it is important for you to understand what participation in the study will involve. Please take time to read the following information carefully and discuss it with others if you wish. Please contact us at the address below if you would like more information.
Why is this study important?
This is an important study because despite a lot of activism and attention given to sexual violence, somewhat surprisingly, certain voices remain conspicuously absent: we know little about working class women’s experiences.
What will I have to do if I take part?
If you are interested in taking part, you will be invited to complete a form acknowledging that you agree to take part. A one-page form will be given to you to sign or will be read over the phone, or on zoom. Either way, you will receive a copy of the signed consent form.
Taking part will involve a one-to-one interview with a female interviewer, either in a private room at the university or on the phone, or on zoom. We expect the discussion to last up to 1 hour.
You will receive a £30 gift voucher for your time, which can be spent in various high street stores.
Do I have to take part?
No. You decide whether or not you want to take part. You can stop taking part in the study at any time, without giving a reason. Withdrawing from the study will not affect your medical care or legal rights. We will delete your data if you contact us within one month of your interview. After that, the data will be woven together and difficult to extract, so we cannot delete it. All data will be full anonymised, paying close attention to anything that might identify you (place names etc).
What are the possible risks with taking part?
All studies involve some level of risk and inconvenience. The possible risks involved with this study may arise from discussing your experiences of sexual violence, disclosing this to people and their responses. You may be ready to talk about this, but you might also find you could become upset. We will go at your pace and if you want to stop we will. Rape Crisis Scotland know about this study, and can be contacted if you would like to speak to someone 08088 01 03 02 or visit https://www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk
What are the possible benefits of taking part?
We can’t promise the study will help you personally. However, the results should help our understanding of working-class women’s experiences of sexual violence and how people respond to them. Not every woman will have the same experience, so it is important to make sure we include as many different voices as we can. In doing so, we can try to make sure the findings reach those who need to see it, including third sector and government.
What happens when the study stops?
Written reports of the study findings will be available from www.disclosingstories.co.uk but a copy of the report can also be requested from Dr Karen Lorimer.
What if there is a problem?
If you are concerned about your participation in the study and would like to speak with someone out with the study team, please contact Prof Sharron Dolan (Associate Dean Research in the School of Health and Life Sciences sharron.dolan@gcu.ac.uk
What will happen to the information given during the study?
The results of the study will be used to write a report, publications and presentations. We will collect information on your name, age and the first part of your postcode. Your name will not be used in any writing; we will instead use a ‘fake’ name. Only members of the study team will have access to your details, with the data analysis carried out by the study team. Personal information on consent forms will be stored in a locked cabinet on university campus, and electronic files with such data will be stored on a restricted network drive at the university.
We will have a professional transcription company transcribe the audio recordings of interviews. We will use a company we have used before, and who have an excellent reputation of working for various universities, BBC, NHS etc. We will make sure the company signs our data confidentiality agreement and follows our strict procedures for erasing files. All files will be erased by the transcription company one the study team have successful received the transcribed interview.
It is important to know that there is a legal limit to how confidential researchers can keep research data: research data might be required to be made available if police seek it. We would ask our data controller for advice on how to comply, if we were contacted by police.
The study complies with the Data Protection Act (2018) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The data controller is Glasgow Caledonian University. Information is being processed based on Article 6(1)(e) of the General Data Protection Regulation and to perform a task carried out in the public interest.
Enquiries specifically relating to data protection should be made to the University’s Data Protection Officer (DPO). The DPO can be contacted by email: dataprotection@gcu.ac.uk. If you are unhappy with the response from the University, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO can be contacted by email: casework@ico.org.uk.
GDPR also gives study participants the right to ask for their personal data to be erased. If you would like us to stop using your personal data, then you can contact Dr Karen Lorimer karen.lorimer@gcu.ac.uk and ask for your personal data to be erased. However, it will only be possible to erase data that has not been anonymised and/or published. Further information about your rights can be found at: https://www.gcu.ac.uk/dataprotection/rights/
Who is organising and funding the study?
This study is being organised by Dr Karen Lorimer and funded by British Academy/Leverhulme.
What will happen to the results of the study?
The study results will be available to a range of people including e.g. health professionals, researchers, and the public. As such, if you convey any negative experiences from healthcare, we will be able to collate this anonymously across all the different interviews and then let organisations know, and encourage them to improve. It will not be possible to identify any individual participant from these reports or publications.
Who has reviewed the study?
All studies involving human participants carried out at Glasgow Caledonian University are reviewed by an ethics committee. The role of the ethics committee is the protect the safety, rights, wellbeing, and dignity of study participants. This study was reviewed by the School of Health and Life Sciences [e.g. nursing] departmental committee and given ethical approval on 17th January 2023 under the following approval code: HLS/NCH/22/007
What happens next?
If you are interested in participating and would like to know more then please contact Dr Karen Lorimer by clicking on the 'Contact' tab on the site menu. You can complete the online contact form and we will be in touch with you.
How do I make contact with the study team?
Please use the contact form by clicking on 'Contact' at the top of this page. But if you would prefer you can email info@disclosingstories.com