Source: barry.edu
Women registrants, you are invited to participate in a voluntary research study titled “Understanding the Treatment Needs of Women Required to Attend Sex Offense Treatment.” This study is being conducted by Dr. Jill Levenson and co-researchers at Barry University. The study has been approved by the University’s Institutional Review Board (IRB). The purpose of the study is to better understand women’s experiences in mandated treatment in order to improve services and clinical practice.
- You are eligible to participate if you are over the age of 18, identify as female / woman, were convicted of a sexual offense, and were court-ordered to attend treatment.
- Participation involves completing a brief (5-minute) anonymous online demographic questionnaire and attending a scheduled two-hour online focus group (DATE: Sunday 4/12/26) on a HIPAA-compliant Zoom platform. The focus group will be a facilitated discussion with open-ended questions that will help researchers understand women’s treatment needs in court-mandated programs following conviction for a sex offense.
- The Focus Group will be video and audio recorded, and a transcript will be generated from the HIPAA compliant Zoom Platform. Participants can choose to keep their camera off if desired. The transcript will identify the speaker by their chosen pseudonym. Recordings and transcripts will be stored in a password-protected computer, and recordings will be destroyed after the transcription is verified for accuracy. Anonymized data will be retained indefinitely.
- Participation is completely voluntary. There is no compensation, and you may choose whether or not to answer questions during the focus group discussion. You can withdraw from the study at any time without penalty. Your identity will be kept confidential by using a pseudonym, and information discussed in the focus group will be further anonymized in any publications or presentations that result from the research.
If you are interested in learning more or volunteering to participate, please directly email Dr. Jill Levenson at [email protected]
Dr. Levenson will then reply with the full informed consent form and next steps will be provided.
Thank you for considering this opportunity to contribute to research that aims to improve treatment for women in similar circumstances.
Warm regards,
Dr. Jill Levenson, PhD, LCSW
Professor of Social Work, Barry University, Miami Shores, FL
If you have questions, you may also contact the IRB representative, Ms. Anoush McNamee at 305-899-3020, [email protected]