Doing research with imprisoned adult male child sexual abusers: Reflecting on the challenges

摘要

Much research has been undertaken within the prison environment, particularly in relation to sexual offenders. Yet, little attention has been paid to the task of doing research with imprisoned adult male child sexual abusers. This is a personal account of the experiences of a female researcher and the issues which emerged as part of the process of undertaking a qualitative, descriptive research study with 101 imprisoned adult males convicted of sexual offences against children. Consideration is given to the challenges which presented prior to and during the fieldwork phase; the means by which these were dealt with; the impact of the data collection process on the researcher; and the part played by gender in that.