What is the project about?
The small-scale project aims to provide evidence about the experiences of hate crime within Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities to see if there are any links between hate crime and poor mental health. We are particularly interested in exploring whether experiences of hate crime may also be linked to the high numbers of suicide which occur within GRT communities.
We want to talk to people of all ages, both community members and people who work closely with the communities and have experience or knowledge of both mental health support needs amongst the community and how people experience hate crime. We are also hoping to include children and young people (using age appropriate techniques and questions) to see how widely spread experiences of discrimination and hate crime are for community members and how this may impact their wellbeing.
The project is funded by GATE Herts and linked to their Report Racism service.
What happens if I take part?
Taking part in the project will give you the opportunity to talk about your experiences of hate crime and the impact it has had on you and your family (or community members who you support) in a discussion group (focus group) and /or an individual interview.
How long will it take if I agree to take part?
The group discussion or one-to one interview will take between about an hour and a half to two hours (no longer). We will provide you with drinks and snacks during the discussion or interview, and there will be a break if it goes on for more than an hour.
What happens if I change my mind and don’t want to take part anymore?
Don’t worry! If you decide that the project isn’t for you, all you need to do is tell us. We will respect your wishes. You only need to let us know if you are happy for us to use the recording or notes which relate to your interview or part in the group discussion up to the point when you choose to withdraw. If you change your mind, this won’t make any difference to the support you get from any of the community groups involved in this project.
Will I get paid for my contribution?
Unfortunately, we don’t have enough money to pay anyone to take part in this project, but we will provide refreshments and reasonable travel contributions.
What will happen to the recording of the group meeting or my interview, and any notes or completed questionnaires?
All of the information you give us will be kept confidentially (nobody but the academic and community team members will see any of the information), including your name, address, where you live – even the city you live in. All this information will be stored separately from the information you provide within your interview or group meeting discussion (focus group).
Only the team in charge of the whole project (Professor Greenfields and Dr Carol Rogers) will have access to all of the names and information about who has taken part. You can use a different name/pseudonym if you want when you take part, as we are interested in your story and – we do not need to know WHO you are.
Once we have removed names or any information which can identify you from the written version of the tapes (‘the transcripts’), we will destroy the audio tapes, so that there is no risk someone can tell from your voice who you are, or that anyone else can have access to the tapes or know who you are. That means all information you give us is confidential between you, the research team and other people who were in a group meeting.
We will invite the staff member from the community group/NGO where the group interview took place to read the transcript (report of the meeting). This will allow them to tell us if they believe the transcript is accurate and talk to you about the transcript (if you want to know more after the interview has taken place).
You can also get in touch with Margaret Greenfields or Carol Rogers (the people running the project) if you want more information. You can also complain to someone else at the University if you are not happy with the information about this project you received, or anything which occurred during the interview or the parts of the project you are involved with.
How do I get involved?
If you want to know more or are thinking about taking part in the first place talk to: Dr. Carol Rogers or Professor Margaret Greenfields who is overseeing the project, and someone will get back to you and tell you more about how you can become involved in the study. Full ethical approval has been gained from an expert ethics panel at the University before you have been approached to take part in this study.
Carol Rogers Carol.rogers@bucks.ac.uk Phone 01494 522141 ext. 4211
Or
Margaret Greenfields Margaret.greenfields@bucks.ac.uk Phone 01494 522141 ext. 5770
If you have any concerns or complaints about any aspect of the study, please contact the researchers in the first instance using the contact details above. However, if after speaking with the researchers you wish to complain formally you can do this through contacting:
The Research and Enterprise Development (RED)
Buckinghamshire New University,
High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP11 2JZ
Normally your complaint will be acknowledged within five working days and answered as soon as possible thereafter.
The link to the survey is here: Survey
This research has received ethical approval through Buckinghamshire New University (ref UEP2019Nov01.)