Investigating the impact of testimonies about sexual experiences on social change

The lead researcher, Emmaline Monteith (she/her), is a PhD student at the Australian National University (ANU) in the School of Literature, Language, and Linguistics (SLLL). She can be contacted via emmaline.monteith@anu.edu.au or +61 422 145 663. Her PhD supervisory panel includes Associate Professor Rosanne Kennedy (ANU, SLLL), Professor Mary Lou Rasmussen (ANU, School of Sociology), and Dr. Elise Stephenson (ANU, Global Institute for Women's Leadership). The primary supervisor, Associate Professor Rosanne Kennedy, can be contacted at rosanne.kennedy@anu.edu.au.

You must be over the age of 18 and have submitted a testimony or multiple testimonies about your sexual experience (e.g. an experience of sexual violence, positive sexual experience) to an external platform, such as a commission, senate inquiry, workplace, Instagram page, testimony website, etc. For the purpose of this survey, "testimony" refers to a personal account or story shared by an individual about their sexual experiences. This can include written statements, verbal accounts, or other forms of communication shared with external platforms such as commissions, senate inquiries, workplaces, social media platforms, or dedicated testimony websites. You will be asked to focus on your experience of sharing a single testimony and, if you have submitted multiple testimonies, to please select one to concentrate on. Please note that this survey is only open to people who have submitted a testimony about a sexual experience to an external platform. If you select that you have not, you will be directed to the end of the survey and your answers will not be recorded.

The data collected from this survey will be used for this research project, which aims to understand the impact of testimonies about sexual experiences. The survey data will be anonymised, and no personally identifiable information will be included in any reports or publications resulting from this research. All data will be stored securely on password-protected servers and will only be accessible to the research team. Data collected will be used to generate insights and findings that will contribute to academic research. There won’t be a formal opportunity to re-negotiate consent during the survey but you will be informed at the beginning and end of the study that you can withdraw your data if you wish by contacting the research team and quoting your anonymised study ID number within a month of completing the survey. Withdrawing consent will not involve any negative consequences. A summary of the study findings will be published on the GIWL website once the research is completed. You can also request to be a sent a copy upon publication by emailing emmaline.monteith@anu.edu.au.

Before beginning the survey, your written consent will be requested via a “Yes, I consent to participate in this research” or “No, I do not consent to participate in this research” question before continuing on to the full survey. You will be reminded that you can exit the survey at any time if you choose not to continue.

Participation in this project is entirely voluntary and you may decline to take part of withdraw from the research without providing an explanation within a month of completing the survey. There won’t be standardised opportunity to re-negotiate consent but you will be informed at the beginning and end of the study that you can withdraw their data if you wish by contacting the research team and quoting your anonymised study ID number. If you choose to withdraw from the study, data related to your participation will be destroyed and not used.

This survey will take place online (hosted by Qualitrics.com) and take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

Please be aware that there is a possibility you may be identifiable through the information you provide in this research. We kindly ask that you refrain from sharing anything that could affect you or others negatively. Additionally, given the sensitive topics related to sex and sexual violence, some aspects of the discussion may be upsetting. If you feel uncomfortable at any time, you are welcome to exit the survey. A list of support services will be available at both the beginning and end of the survey. You are under no obligation to answer any questions that you find upsetting.

While it is unlikely that you will personally benefit from participating in this research, we expect that this research will enhance the collective understanding of the impact of online testimonies about sexual experiences. By participating, you will be contributing valuable insights that will inform the development of an evidence-based foundation for future initiatives aimed at leveraging testimonies about sexual experiences for social change.

The survey data will be anonymised, and no personally identifiable information will be included in any reports or publications resulting from this research. Please avoid using proper names or geographical identifiers in your survey responses. Confidentiality will be protected as far as the law allows. Only the nominated researchers will have access to the material provided by participants. No external individuals or organisations will have access to your data without your explicit consent. All data will be stored securely on password-protected servers and will only be accessible to the research team.

In collecting your personal information within this research, the ANU must comply with the Privacy Act 1988. The ANU Privacy Policy is available at https://policies.anu.edu.au/ppl/document/ANUP 010007. It contains information about how a person can:

• Access or seek correction to their personal information;
• Complain about a breach of an Australian Privacy Principle by ANU, and how ANU will handle the complaint

Data will be stored on secured ANU servers and password-protected OneDrive folders. All personal information (e.g., emails and contact details) will be permanently deleted at the end of the project. Original data may be stored for 5 years and destroyed after that time. Only a de-identified copy of the results will be uploaded to the ANU Data Commons Library.

If you have any questions about this project, please contact the researcher, Emmaline, via emmaline.monteith@anu.edu.au or +61 422 145 663. The primary supervisor, Associate Professor Rosanne Kennedy, can also be contacted at rosanne.kennedy@anu.edu.au. If you experience distress throughout or following participation, we encourage you to reach out to the following support organisations:

• Lifeline: Crisis support and suicide prevention service for all Australians experiencing emotional distress. Call: 13 11 14 | Text: 0477 13 11 14 | Online chat | Open: 24/7

• Head to Health: Support service that helps all Australians access the mental health and wellbeing services that are right for them. Call: 1800 595 212 | Open: 8:30am-5pm weekdays

• QLife: Provides anonymous and free LGBTQIA+ peer support and referral for people wanting to talk about sexuality, identity, gender, bodies, feelings or relationships. Call: 1800 184 527 | Online chat | Open: 3pm-midnight daily 

• 13Yarn: Crisis support line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People. Call: 13 92 76 | Open: 24/7 1800

• 1800Respect: National sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling service for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence/sexual assault. Call: 1800 737 732 | Online chat | Open: 24/7

The ethical aspects of this research have been approved by the ANU Human Research Ethics Committee (Protocol H/2024/0807). If you have any concerns or complaints about how this research has been conducted, please contact: Ethics Manager, The ANU Human Research Ethics Committee, The Australian National University, Telephone: +61 2 6125 3427, Email: Human.Ethics.Officer@anu.edu.au.