Survivor Participation

• We’d like to hear from you if you’ve given evidence at Leeds, Newcastle, or Snaresbrook Crown Court as a victim or survivor of rape or sexual assault in the last 18 months.
• You must have been an adult (18 years old) at the time when you gave evidence at court.
• We’re hoping to speak to up to 30 victims and survivors about their experience of testifying at these courts.

‘Specialist Sexual Violence Support’ (SSVS) courts were set up in 2022 in Leeds, Newcastle and Snaresbrook. We’re interested in victims and survivors’ views about the support they received at these courts, including:

• what you thought about court facilities,
• how you were treated by court staff,
• if you felt safe or supported while giving evidence,
• your views on special measures or other aids,
• access to supporters, ISVAs, court visits, witness preparation, legal advice and information, and
• anything else about testifying you want to tell us.

• Victims and survivors’ views about the trial process are vital, but no one has asked what they think about recent improvements to the courts at Leeds, Newcastle and Snaresbrook.
• This study allows victims and survivors who want to voice their opinions to do so, and will help develop user-led, trauma-informed specialist courts.

Dr Natalie Kyneswood is interviewing victims and survivors about Leeds and Newcastle Crown Court. She is a researcher at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Faculty of Law, University of Oxford.

Dr Alma Ionescu is interviewing victims and survivors about Snaresbrook Crown Court. She is a researcher at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies.

• You will be invited to take part in an interview, in person or online, to fit around you.
• You will be given a participant information sheet and asked to complete a consent form.
• You will be sent a link to complete a short online survey before the interview.
• The interview will last around 45 minutes but will be no more than 1 hour.
• With your permission, we will record the conversation to produce an accurate written copy of what you say. This recording will be deleted as soon as the interview is written up.
• You may pause the recording, stop, or end the interview at any time, without giving a reason.

• All participants will receive a gift voucher to acknowledge their contribution.
• Travel costs and additional expenses such as childcare can also be reimbursed for those attending interviews in-person.

• No. It is completely up to you to decide if you want to take part.
• If you change your mind, you can withdraw from the study at any point before the end of April 2026, and any data collected will be deleted.

Apart from giving up your time, which we appreciate, there are no risks or disadvantages. We will check that your case has concluded by the time you speak to us (no re-trials or on-going appeals). We hope that taking part in the survey, and/or speaking to us directly, will be a positive experience.

• We will use the information you share with us to publish a report, an article, and a briefing for victims and survivors on specialist sexual offence courts.
• It should not be possible for someone to identify you in documents we publish.
• We’d like to quote from your survey and interview but we will never name you, or anyone else, and we will remove details that could identify you.

• Your information will be stored on University of Oxford password protected computer servers. It will be kept securely for 3 years after we publish the findings. Only researchers involved in the project will have access to it during this time.
• At the end of the study, we’ll deposit survey and interview data in the Oxford University Research Archive and the UK Data Archive, so other researchers can refer to them, but only if you give us permission to do so.

• Complete the short, anonymous online survey;
   
• Speak to us directly - fill out the contact form or email us: natalie.kyneswood@csls.ox.ac.uk (for Newcastle or Leeds) or alma.ionescu@csls.ox.ac.uk (for Snaresbrook, London).
   
• if your case is due to be heard at Leeds or Snaresbrook before the end of May 2026, you can give us permission to observe your case.

This study is funded by Wellcome and has received ethics approval from the University of Oxford Social Sciences and Humanities Interdivisional Research Ethics Committee. Dr Natalie Kyneswood is the Principal Investigator. 

Contact Rape Crisis anytime, day or night: 0808 500 2222 or via the online chat: 247sexualabusesupport.org.uk.

You might also find these links about local support services in Leeds, Newcastle and Snaresbrook helpful:

• Leeds Support Services
• Newcastle Support Services
• Snaresbrook Support Services