Factors Affecting Adults' Decisions to Seek Justice for CSA (v1)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Factors affecting the decisions of adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse to engage as a witness in the criminal justice system
IRAS ID
224050
Contact name
Hope Plastock
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 11 days
Research summary
Understanding the thoughts and experiences of adults who experienced CSA about engaging with the criminal justice system.
Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a more common crime than has been recognised, however is rarely prosecuted in court (Radford et al., 2011; CPS, 2014). Whilst not all CSA survivors experience mental health difficulties, the incidence of CSA is high amongst users of mental health services who are vulnerable to retraumatisation (Maniglio, 2009). Research with survivors of other sexual crimes has found they report the legal process can be distressing and retraumatising. Little research has directly asked CSA survivors how they experience and consider seeking justice. Understanding barriers to engagement with the legal process from a survivor perspective may highlight factors which, once addressed, increase support around the prosecution process. This study aims to understand the experiences and thoughts around seeking justice of people who experienced CSA.
Adult survivors of CSA who attend Specialist NHS Trauma Services in Glasgow, Lanarkshire and Edinburgh will be interviewed. Participants will be included who:1) have reported experiencing CSA to their therapist.
2) are currently seeing a therapist.
3) are fluent in English.
4) Have been identified as suitable to participate by their therapist.Clients who meet these criteria and tell their therapist they are interested in participating will receive an information leaflet about the research and be given time to think about whether they would like to take part. If they do, their therapist will contact the researcher to arrange a time to meet them at the place they attend for therapy. This meeting will last around an hour and will focus on their perspectives of engaging with the justice system. The meeting will be recorded and the researcher will later analyse the conversation to identify important themes in what was said which help meet the research aim.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 1
REC reference
17/WS/0206
Date of REC Opinion
2 Nov 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion