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We would like to invite you to participate in this survivor-led research project, which is being conducted by members of the Violence Abuse and Mental Health Network’s Lived Experience Action Group. Before you decide whether you want to take part, it is important for you to understand why the research is being done and what your participation will involve. Please take time to read the following information carefully and discuss it with others if you wish. Contact us ([email protected]) if there is anything that is not clear or if you would like more information.
What is the purpose of the project? This project aims to understand how people who have experienced domestic abuse are treated by the justice system, and how these experiences affect their mental health and wellbeing. Although the justice system is meant to offer protection and accountability, many survivors find the process confusing, distressing, or even harmful. Others choose not to engage with it at all. We want to hear directly from survivors about what helped, what didn’t, and what needs to change.
Why have I been invited to take part? You are being invited to participate in this project because you have experienced domestic abuse and have either engaged with the justice system or considered engaging with the justice system but didn’t. By justice system, we mean the police, solicitors, or court systems. Please note that you must be aged 16 years or older, be living in the United Kingdom, be proficient in English, and have experienced domestic abuse to take part in the study. Please only take part if you feel physically and emotionally safe to do so. You should not participate if taking part could put you at increased risk from an abusive current or former partner or if you are actively involved in legal proceedings relating to your experience of domestic abuse.
What will happen if I take part? Before you take part in a workshop, we’ll arrange a short call with you to check if it feels safe and right for you. If we’re worried that taking part might increase risk, we’ll explain why it might not be possible to continue. We can offer information about support services if helpful. If we’re seriously concerned about someone’s safety, we’ll always try to talk with you first and agree next steps. In very rare cases, we may need to share information without consent to keep someone safe, but only after speaking with a senior team member. We recognise that survivors are the experts in their own safety, and our approach is grounded in supporting your choices and wellbeing.
If you choose to take part in a workshop, you’ll join a small supportive group of up to ten people with lived experience of domestic abuse to talk about how the justice system affected you. We are holding workshops in-person at community centres in London and [add cities]. The workshops will be held in accessible venues, but if you have access requirements it would be helpful to let us know about, please tell us at [email protected]. The workshop will last for three hours, including breaks, and will be jointly run by a peer researcher with lived experience of domestic abuse and a university researcher. You’ll be invited to take part in a group activity to map out common experiences – what helped, what didn’t, and what could be improved. You won’t be asked to share personal information about your experiences of abuse. We’ll take notes and keep any materials created during the session (e.g., diagrams, sticky notes) to help us understand what was discussed. Support resources will be available and you can take a break or leave the workshop at any time.
Do I have to take part? Participation is completely voluntary. You should only take part if you want to and choosing not to take part will not disadvantage you in any way. Once you have read the information sheet, please contact us if you have any questions that will help you make a decision about taking part. If you decide to take part we will ask you to sign a consent form and you will be given a copy of this consent form to keep.
Incentives: If you take part in a workshop, you will receive a £75 payment to thank you for your time. This is based on a rate of £25 per hour for a 3 hour session. You can choose to receive this either as a multi-use voucher (Love2Shop) or by BACS bank transfer. We will cover reasonable travel costs up to a maximum of £50 (you can choose whether to book this yourself and provide reecipts to claim the cost back, or we can arrange travel on your behalf) and receipted childcare costs of up to £80. The workshop will be catered and we will ask you if you have any dietary requirements.
What are the possible risks of taking part? Taking part in this project may bring up difficult thoughts or feelings. We won’t ask you to describe any experiences of abuse in detail, but talking about your experiences with the justice system, or the support you did or didn’t receive, could still be upsetting.
To help reduce the risk of distress:
During the workshop, please don’t share identifiable details about any criminal activity (e.g., names, addresses, or locations), whether they involve you or someone else. If you share information that suggests serious risk of harm to you or others, including urgent mental health concerns such as suicidal thoughts or plans, we may need to break confidentiality. If this happens, we will always speak to you first and explain what will happen next. In most situations, we will only share your information if you give permission. However, if we believe there is an immediate and serious risk and we cannot gain your consent—for example, if you are unable to engage with us or if we are seriously concerned about your safety—we may need to act without your agreement. In this case, we would consult with a senior clinician on the research team and, if necessary, contact emergency or mental health services. This would only happen in rare and urgent situations, and we will always prioritise your safety and wellbeing in line with ethical guidance.
If you’re not sure whether taking part is right for you, please get in touch with us at [email protected] to talk it through.
What are the possible benefits of taking part? Although there are no guaranteed benefits from taking part, we aim to provide a supportive and non-judgemental environment in which survivors can speak and share their experiences with one another.
Data handling and confidentiality: Your data will be processed under the terms of UK data protection law (including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018). Focus groups will be audio and video recorded and the recordings saved to MS SharePoint. Data stored on Microsoft SharePoint are hosted and stored in Microsoft’s European data centres and protected by multiple layers of security technology and encryption. Your name will be replaced with a pseudonym during transcription checking and any personal identifiable information removed. Transcripts and consent forms will be saved to MS SharePoint as password protected files. Only the research team will have access to these files. Consent forms will be destroyed after the completion of the study. Anonymised transcripts will be held for ten years and then securely deleted. The information you provide will not allow you to be identified in any research outputs/publications.
King’s College London has a responsibility to keep information collected about you safe and secure, and to ensure the integrity of research data. Specialist teams within King’s College London continually assess and ensure that data is held in the most appropriate and secure way.
Data Protection Statement: If you would like more information about how your data will be processed under the terms of UK data protection laws please visit the link below:
https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/support/research-ethics/kings-college-london-statement-on-use-of-personal-data-in-research
What if I change my mind about taking part? You are free withdraw at any point of the project, without having to give a reason. Withdrawing from the project will not affect you in any way. Please note, however, that due to the group format, once the workshop has commenced you will not be able to withdraw your data from the research.
How is the project being funded? This project is being funded by the UKPRP Violence Health and Society Consortium.
What will happen to the results of the project? The results of the study will be summarised in a report and also submitted to a peer-reviewed journal as an academic paper. If you would like to receive the report, please indicate this on the consent form. The report will also be published on the VAMHN website (www.vamhn.co.uk) and shared via the VAMHN mailing list, which you can sign up to via our website.
Who should I contact for further information? If you have any questions or require more information about this project, or if you would like to take part in the research, please contact us at [email protected]
What if I have further questions, or if something goes wrong? If this study has harmed you in any way or if you wish to make a complaint about the conduct of the study you can contact King's College London using the details below for further advice and information: The Chair, Health Faculties Research Ethics Subcommittee [email protected]
What is the purpose of the project? This project aims to understand how people who have experienced domestic abuse are treated by the justice system, and how these experiences affect their mental health and wellbeing. Although the justice system is meant to offer protection and accountability, many survivors find the process confusing, distressing, or even harmful. Others choose not to engage with it at all. We want to hear directly from survivors about what helped, what didn’t, and what needs to change.
Why have I been invited to take part? You are being invited to participate in this project because you have experienced domestic abuse and have either engaged with the justice system or considered engaging with the justice system but didn’t. By justice system, we mean the police, solicitors, or court systems. Please note that you must be aged 16 years or older, be living in the United Kingdom, be proficient in English, and have experienced domestic abuse to take part in the study. Please only take part if you feel physically and emotionally safe to do so. You should not participate if taking part could put you at increased risk from an abusive current or former partner or if you are actively involved in legal proceedings relating to your experience of domestic abuse.
What will happen if I take part? Before you take part in a workshop, we’ll arrange a short call with you to check if it feels safe and right for you. If we’re worried that taking part might increase risk, we’ll explain why it might not be possible to continue. We can offer information about support services if helpful. If we’re seriously concerned about someone’s safety, we’ll always try to talk with you first and agree next steps. In very rare cases, we may need to share information without consent to keep someone safe, but only after speaking with a senior team member. We recognise that survivors are the experts in their own safety, and our approach is grounded in supporting your choices and wellbeing.
If you choose to take part in a workshop, you’ll join a small supportive group of up to ten people with lived experience of domestic abuse to talk about how the justice system affected you. We are holding workshops in-person at community centres in London and [add cities]. The workshops will be held in accessible venues, but if you have access requirements it would be helpful to let us know about, please tell us at [email protected]. The workshop will last for three hours, including breaks, and will be jointly run by a peer researcher with lived experience of domestic abuse and a university researcher. You’ll be invited to take part in a group activity to map out common experiences – what helped, what didn’t, and what could be improved. You won’t be asked to share personal information about your experiences of abuse. We’ll take notes and keep any materials created during the session (e.g., diagrams, sticky notes) to help us understand what was discussed. Support resources will be available and you can take a break or leave the workshop at any time.
Do I have to take part? Participation is completely voluntary. You should only take part if you want to and choosing not to take part will not disadvantage you in any way. Once you have read the information sheet, please contact us if you have any questions that will help you make a decision about taking part. If you decide to take part we will ask you to sign a consent form and you will be given a copy of this consent form to keep.
Incentives: If you take part in a workshop, you will receive a £75 payment to thank you for your time. This is based on a rate of £25 per hour for a 3 hour session. You can choose to receive this either as a multi-use voucher (Love2Shop) or by BACS bank transfer. We will cover reasonable travel costs up to a maximum of £50 (you can choose whether to book this yourself and provide reecipts to claim the cost back, or we can arrange travel on your behalf) and receipted childcare costs of up to £80. The workshop will be catered and we will ask you if you have any dietary requirements.
What are the possible risks of taking part? Taking part in this project may bring up difficult thoughts or feelings. We won’t ask you to describe any experiences of abuse in detail, but talking about your experiences with the justice system, or the support you did or didn’t receive, could still be upsetting.
To help reduce the risk of distress:
- The workshop will be run by trained facilitators, including a peer researcher with lived experience, who are there to support you throughout.
- You don’t have to answer any question or take part in any part of the activity that you don’t’ feel comfortable with. You can find a detailed guide to the workshop here [add link].
- You can take a break or leave the workshop at any time. We’ll also provide a short break during the session.
- We ask that you only take part if you feel emotionally able to do so.
- We will give you information about relevant support services. Some suggested sources of support are provided below.
During the workshop, please don’t share identifiable details about any criminal activity (e.g., names, addresses, or locations), whether they involve you or someone else. If you share information that suggests serious risk of harm to you or others, including urgent mental health concerns such as suicidal thoughts or plans, we may need to break confidentiality. If this happens, we will always speak to you first and explain what will happen next. In most situations, we will only share your information if you give permission. However, if we believe there is an immediate and serious risk and we cannot gain your consent—for example, if you are unable to engage with us or if we are seriously concerned about your safety—we may need to act without your agreement. In this case, we would consult with a senior clinician on the research team and, if necessary, contact emergency or mental health services. This would only happen in rare and urgent situations, and we will always prioritise your safety and wellbeing in line with ethical guidance.
If you’re not sure whether taking part is right for you, please get in touch with us at [email protected] to talk it through.
- Samaritans: Free to call service 24 hours a day, call them on 116 123.
- Shout: If you would prefer not to talk but want some mental health support you can text SHOUT to 85258. Shout officers a confidential 24/7 text service providing support if you are in crisis and need immediate help.
- National Domestic Abuse Helpline (Refuge): 24/7 service. Call 0808 2000 247 or go to www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk
- Galop: Helpline for LGBT+ people experiencing abuse or violence, available Mondays and Tuesdays 9.15-8pm and Wednesdays to Thursdays 9.15-4.30pm. The helpline is closed between 1pm-2pm each day. Call them on 0800 999 5428 or go to www.galop.org.uk
- Men’s Advice Line: Freephone helpline for male victims of domestic abuse, available Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm. Call them on 0808 801 0327 or go to www.mensadviceline.org.uk
- Victim Support: Help and support for anyone affected by crime. You can talk to Victim Support whether or not you’ve reported the crime to the police. Victim Support can support you without the involvement of the criminal justice system. Free to call service 24 hours a day. Call them on 0808 16 89 111 or go to www.victimsupport.org.uk
What are the possible benefits of taking part? Although there are no guaranteed benefits from taking part, we aim to provide a supportive and non-judgemental environment in which survivors can speak and share their experiences with one another.
Data handling and confidentiality: Your data will be processed under the terms of UK data protection law (including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018). Focus groups will be audio and video recorded and the recordings saved to MS SharePoint. Data stored on Microsoft SharePoint are hosted and stored in Microsoft’s European data centres and protected by multiple layers of security technology and encryption. Your name will be replaced with a pseudonym during transcription checking and any personal identifiable information removed. Transcripts and consent forms will be saved to MS SharePoint as password protected files. Only the research team will have access to these files. Consent forms will be destroyed after the completion of the study. Anonymised transcripts will be held for ten years and then securely deleted. The information you provide will not allow you to be identified in any research outputs/publications.
King’s College London has a responsibility to keep information collected about you safe and secure, and to ensure the integrity of research data. Specialist teams within King’s College London continually assess and ensure that data is held in the most appropriate and secure way.
Data Protection Statement: If you would like more information about how your data will be processed under the terms of UK data protection laws please visit the link below:
https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/support/research-ethics/kings-college-london-statement-on-use-of-personal-data-in-research
What if I change my mind about taking part? You are free withdraw at any point of the project, without having to give a reason. Withdrawing from the project will not affect you in any way. Please note, however, that due to the group format, once the workshop has commenced you will not be able to withdraw your data from the research.
How is the project being funded? This project is being funded by the UKPRP Violence Health and Society Consortium.
What will happen to the results of the project? The results of the study will be summarised in a report and also submitted to a peer-reviewed journal as an academic paper. If you would like to receive the report, please indicate this on the consent form. The report will also be published on the VAMHN website (www.vamhn.co.uk) and shared via the VAMHN mailing list, which you can sign up to via our website.
Who should I contact for further information? If you have any questions or require more information about this project, or if you would like to take part in the research, please contact us at [email protected]
What if I have further questions, or if something goes wrong? If this study has harmed you in any way or if you wish to make a complaint about the conduct of the study you can contact King's College London using the details below for further advice and information: The Chair, Health Faculties Research Ethics Subcommittee [email protected]
Thank for reading this information sheet. Please click here to express your interest in taking part.