VOICES Project Survey

Please take the time to read this information. You may ask questions about anything you don’t understand or want to know more about.

Your participation is voluntary. If you do not wish to take part, you do not have to. If you begin participating and decide you don’t wish to continue for any reason, you can stop at any time.

Who is conducting this project?

This survey is a collaboration between the University of Melbourne and ANROWS (Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety), funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services.

What will I be asked to do?

Should you agree to participate, you will be asked to complete an online brief (2 minute) initial survey to see if your background and experiences are the right fit for our survey. You will then be sent a link to the main survey via email. The link to the survey will remain active for 60 days. The online confidential survey takes 30 minutes to complete.

You will automatically be entered in a draw to win one of 10 iPads, as a token of our appreciation if you complete the survey. You may need to check your junk mail for the link. We will also ask you if you would like to be involved in further research on this topic and participate in following up interviews.

What will happen to my answers?

All information you provide is STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL and all findings from the project will be collected in confidential form. ANROWS will not know whether you participated in the survey or not. Because the survey responses are stored anonymously you will not be able to choose to withdraw your responses after you have submitted them. At any point before you submit your responses you are free to choose to not submit them, and there will be no repercussions from this. Any data you have submitted through the survey will be analysed as part of a large data set. The VOICES Project researchers at Melbourne University will analyse the data without knowing the identity of participants.

All data will be kept secure, in locked storage or password-protected electronic folders at the Department of General Practice, The University of Melbourne. Information about your name and email will be kept separate from your survey answers. The research data and records will be kept for a minimum of five years after publication, or public release, of the work of the research. It will then be destroyed in accordance with the university guidelines.

Key findings and outcomes derived from this project may be used in teaching/training activities related to intimate partner violence and/or sexual violence.

If you agree to be involved in follow-up interviews, your information will also be strictly confidential. 

What are the possible benefits?

We cannot promise that the project will be of direct benefit to you, but we hope that the information you provide us will go towards understanding the service needs of women who have experienced abuse and violence. This may in turn helps us to provide support and services that helps other women. Participating in this project may also be an opportunity for you to reflect and understand more about your behaviours and intimate relationships.

What are the possible risks?

There is a risk that you may be upset by some of the questions in this survey. There are many services in place that you can call should you need support, please click here if you wish to access them.

Interested in participating?

Thank you for reading this information. If you are interested in taking part in this project, please click below. This will be taken as you having read this information and consenting to be involved in the project. If you start the survey and choose not to take part in this project, you can exit the survey at any time.