Background to Restorative Justice (RJ): RJ is the process of bringing together those harmed by crime or conflict with those responsible for the harm, to find a positive way forward.  The parties are prepared for the structured meetings by trained RJ facilitators. 

There are three basic requirements that must be met before a meeting can take place:  

·         The person who committed the crime must accept responsibility for the crime 

·         Both the victims/survivors and the person who committed the crime must be willing to participate  

In criminal justice, restorative processes give victims/survivors the chance to: tell the person who offended against them the real impact of their crime, get answers to their questions and get an apology. RJ holds those people who committed the offences to account for what they have done. It helps them understand the real impact, take responsibility, and make amends. 

You are being invited to take part in a research study. You do not have to take part if you do not want to. Please read this information, which will help you decide.

1.       What is the purpose of the study?

In the last 7 years, an increasing number of cases involving sexual offending and RJ have come to the attention of established RJ practitioners. A small but growing number of these cases have been initiated by the person who committed the crime and RJ practitioners will work with other agencies to inform victims/survivors that the person who committed the crime wants to engage with them in an RJ meeting. However, we do not know if victims/survivors have a preferred method of contact for this, nor what practitioners should do if the victim/survivors are not working with other agencies. 

In simple terms, how does the practitioner contact the victim/survivor to advise them of this requets by person who committed the crime?

2.       Why have I been invited to participate?

You have been invited because you are a member of the public who has viewed the advertisement for this study on a social media platform such as Facebook or X or you have seen it in an online RJ publication or bulletin. This means you have access to the survey from your device. 

The inclusion criteria is that anyone aged 18 or over can participate and complete the survey. Anyone below the age of 18 is not included. 

3.       Do I have to take part?

No. It is up to you to decide whether to take part.  You can read this information sheet with no obligation to take part. If you do decide to take part, to evidence your consent to take part in the research, you will be asked to click an implied consent box at the start of the survey. You can withdraw from the survey at any time whilst answering the questions without giving a reason.  Until you click on the ‘survey complete’ command, no answers will have been saved. Should you wish to withdraw after completion and submission, this is not possible due to the anonymity of the data collected.

4.       What will happen to me if I take part?

Having read this information sheet, if you decide to take part, you will be invited to click on a link that will take you to the survey. The survey is only required to be answered once and will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. It can be accessed from a range of electronic devices of your choice. This allows you to complete the survey at a time and in a location of your choosing. On completion, you will electronically submit your answers, and these will be added to those already submitted by other participants. These will later be analysed by myself to inform the findings of the study.

All completed surveys are anonymous, and it will not be possible to identify you from any of your answers. After completing and submitting the survey, it will not be possible to withdraw your responses because of this. 

5.        Will I be photographed, or video/audio recorded and how will the recorded media be used?

No

6.       Are there any potential risks in taking part?

Some of you taking part in this survey may have been victims/survivors of sexual violence and answering may trigger unpleasant emotions for you. Should this occur, please remember this is a voluntary survey and you can avoid any questions or stop the survey completely at any given time.  

After the survey, there is a debrief sheet which will signpost you to agencies that you may wish to talk to.

For example:

The Samaritans on 116 123

Survivors Trust on 0808 801 0818

Rape Crisis England & Wales on 0808 802 9999

If you identify as LGBT+, you can call Galop on 0800 999  5428

7.       Are there any benefits in taking part?

It is not anticipated there will be any direct benefits for participants taking part in the study. However, for those who have been victims/survivors of sexual violence, it is anticipated that by sharing their experiences and views, they will contribute to identifying how victims/survivors of sexual violence would like to be made aware that the person who offended against them wants to engage with them in an RJ meeting.

8.       Payments, reimbursements of expenses or any other benefit or incentive for taking part

There will be no payment or any benefit or incentive for taking part in this study.

9.       What will happen to information provided?

The information you provide as part of the study is the study data.  Any study data from which you can be identified (e.g. from identifiers such as your name and audio recording etc.), is known as personal data. This includes more sensitive categories of personal data (sensitive data) such as your race; ethnic origin; politics; religion; trade union membership; genetics; biometrics (where used for ID purposes); health; sex life; or sexual orientation.

From the data you provide for this survey, you will not be identifiable.

10.   What if I find something unexpected?

I am not anticipating finding anything unexpected.

12.   Whom do I contact if I have a concern about the study or wish to complain?

If you have a concern about any aspect of this study, please contact me and I will do my best to answer your query. I will acknowledge your concern within 10 working days and give you an indication of how I intend to deal with it. If you remain unhappy or wish to make a complaint, please contact the Chair of the Research Ethics Committee at Liverpool John Moores University who will seek to resolve the matter as soon as possible.

Chair, Liverpool John Moores University Research Ethics Committee: Email: FullReviewUREC@ljmu.ac.uk; Tel: 0151 231 2121: Research Innovation Services, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L2 2QP.

13.   Data Protection Notice

Liverpool John Moores University is the data controller with respect to your personal data. Information about your rights with respect to your personal data is available from:

https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/legal/privacy-and-cookies/external-stakeholders-privacy-policy/research-participants-privacy-notice

Or you can ask one of the study team by contacting us at the information below

14.   Contact details

Study Team: 

Principal Researcher: 

Philip Cawley PhD Student

School of Psychology, Faculty of Health

Liverpool John Moores University

Academic Supervisor:

Dr Stephanie Kewley

School of Psychology, Faculty of Health

Liverpool John Moores University

Thank you for reading this information sheet and for considering taking part in this study.