Participant Information Sheet
Access to Justice for Apostates in England and Wales (Phase 2)
Background to the Research Project:
In the UK the Human Rights Act protects the right to change religion or belief, however, due to the efforts of apostates, activists and charities there is growing awareness that many people experience difficulties, including discrimination and harassment as a result of leaving their religion. The Government has a duty to protect people from abuse and discrimination on the basis of their religion or belief, however there is little indication that the legal frameworks in place, such as hate crime or domestic abuse laws, are being used to protect apostates.
There has been very little research on the challenges that apostates face, or on the response of public services such as the police, if apostates try to report their experiences. This research project aims to understand and evidence the abuse, harassment, and discrimination that apostates may experience, and to do so in relation to legal frameworks around hate crime, domestic abuse and coercive control. In addition, this research aims to understand the experiences that apostates have had if seeking support from the police and criminal justice system, and if so, what the outcomes were.
The results of this research project will provide much needed understanding of, and evidence for, the challenges and barriers that apostates face, and are intended to inform legal and policy development in hate crime and domestic abuse, aiming to improve justice and support for apostates in the future.
Information for participants:
1, Why have you asked me to take part?
Apostates who have experienced any form of abuse, harassment or discrimination as a result of leaving their religion or belief are invited to take part in this study. Participants must be over 18 years of age and located in England or Wales.
2, What will I be required to do?
You will be asked to take part in an informal interview to explore issues relating to your experiences of leaving religion, and any negative experiences that may mean you have been a victim of crime. You will be asked to briefly describe the negative experiences that you have had, however you will not be asked to describe any distressing experiences in detail. The focus on the interview will be on whether you reported, or sought support following your experience, and what the outcome of that was. You will also be asked about your faith background, current beliefs, and different aspects of your identity that may be relevant.
3, Do I have to take part?
It is up to you to decide if you want to take part. Interviews are semi structured and informal, and all questions are optional. You can decide to withdraw at any time before or during the interview without giving a reason. You can choose to withdraw your information from the study up to 2 weeks following your interview. If you decide to withdraw from the study after the interview please contact the main researcher using the contact details at the end of this sheet, stating that you wish to withdraw your data and any data collected from your participation including recordings and transcripts will be deleted and not included in results.
4, Where will this take place?
Interviews will take place either by telephone or video conferencing software depending on preference, and will be recorded (audio only) and transcribed.
5, How often will I have to take part, and for how long?
You will take part in one interview which is expected to take between 30-90 minutes.
6, Is deception involved in the study?
There is no deception involved in the study.
7, Are there any possible risks or disadvantages in taking part.
There is a potential risk to the confidentiality and anonymity of the data provided by participants. To minimise this risk, all data will be collected, stored and archived according to university ethical regulations, and General Data Protection Regulations, ensuring the security and confidentiality of your data. All data collected from participants will be anonymised. Results will be presented thematically so that no individual or organisation can be identified from results. Direct quotations will be selected with care to ensure no identifying information is disclosed, and attributed by gender and former belief, e.g
There is a potential risk due to the sensitive and potentially distressing nature of the topics being discussed. To minimise this, the interview will ask about previous negative experiences only in as much detail as is needed to place the experiences in the context of the research. Participants will not be asked to recount distressing experiences in detail, and the focus of the interview will be on the experiences participants have had in accessing support, and the outcomes of that. All participation in this study is voluntary. Participants can choose not to answer particular questions, can pause or take a break during the interview, and can withdraw from the study at any time before or during the interview, or up to two weeks afterwards. Participants will be given a debrief sheet following the interview which will contain information on sources of further support.
8, What are the possible benefits of taking part?
The results of this research will build knowledge of the issues that apostates face, and the challenges that organisations and police forces face in providing effective support. This knowledge can then be used to inform policy and practice, to drive improvements in provision of services to apostates in the future. This research study is underpinned by principles of human rights and as such will seek to feed recommendations back to participating organisations and police forces to raise awareness and build capacity. The data that you provide will be used to form these and can ‘feed-forward’ to benefit apostates in the future.
9, When will I have the opportunity to discuss my participation?
You will have the opportunity to discuss your participation, ask any questions that you have about the study and confirm your consent to take part, at the beginning of the interview. Following the interview you will be provided with a debrief sheet with contact information for the study, and sources of further support.
10, Will anyone be able to connect me with what is recorded and reported?
As many people leaving religion are not able to be open about their beliefs, the anonymity of participants and security of data will be given the greatest priority in this research. Information gathered from interviews will be presented thematically and will ensure that no individual respondent can be identified. Direct quotations used to illustrate results will be presented so that an individual cannot be identified, and will be attributed by ex-belief, and gender only; for example "quotation" (female, ex-Christian)
11, Who will be responsible for all of the information when this study is over?
When the study is complete the anonymised data will be held securely in the Sheffield Hallam University research archive.
12, Who will have access to it?
During the study, the data collected will be held securely in the Sheffield Hallam University research drive, and will only be accessed by the main researcher and supervision team.
13, What will happen to the information when this study is over?
Once the study is over, and to minimise the risk that any individuals could be identified the anonymised transcripts and data analysis will not be made available for open research access and will be held securely in the Sheffield Hallam University Research archive for 10 years or as per archiving policy.
14, How will you use what you find out and how can I find out about the results of the study?
The data from this study will be used to write a PhD thesis which will be publicly accessible as per Sheffield Hallam University policy. The findings may also be used to publish academic articles, conference papers, policy consultation responses, training materials, recommendations and guidance for charitable organisations, and publicly funded services such as police.
15, How long is the whole study likely to last?
The study is taking place in three phases and is expected to take no longer than 2 years.
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Legal basis for research for studies.
The University undertakes research as part of its function for the community under its legal status. Data protection allows us to use personal data for research with appropriate safeguards in place under the legal basis of A full statement of your rights can be found at https://www.shu.ac.uk/about-this-website/privacy-policy/privacy-notices/privacy-notice-for-research. However, all University research is reviewed to ensure that participants are treated appropriately, and their rights respected. This study was approved by UREC with Converis number ER34921108. Further information at https://www.shu.ac.uk/research/ethics-integrity-and-practice
The information in this sheet, and the informed consent will be reviewed at the beginning of your interview, and you will have the opportunity to ask any further questions that you may have before your interview begins.
Details of who to contact if you have any questions or concerns after the study are given below.
Researcher Details:
Main Researcher - Ellen Johnson (PhD student), email @ Ellen.J.Johnson@student.shu.ac.uk
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You should contact the Data Protection Officer if:
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you have a query about how your data is used by the University
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you would like to report a data security breach (e.g. if you think your personal data has been lost or disclosed inappropriately)
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you would like to complain about how the University has used your personal data
You should contact the Head of Research Ethics if:
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you have concerns with how the research was undertaken or how you were treated
Postal address: Sheffield Hallam University, Howard Street, Sheffield S1 1WBT Telephone: 0114 225 5555