Interview research with individuals convicted of sexual offenses: Navigating barriers and building strategies

Interview research on sensitive topics and with vulnerable populations is complex, with sexual offending representing an extreme case. Despite this, the literature on qualitative interviews with individuals convicted of sexual offenses (ICSOs) is scarce. This paper explores methodological obstacles and ethical dilemmas encountered when conducting interview research with ICSOs across Scandinavian contexts. It employs a cross-case analysis of experiences and empirical material from five Scandinavian studies, including interviews with 99 ICSOs. It identifies recurring challenges, including moral and emotional strain, as well as the need to build trust and secure motivation from gatekeepers and interviewees. A key insight concerns the role of redemptive, relational, and instrumental motivations as reasons for participation. The interviews sometimes appeared to function as therapeutic spaces for stigma management. Simultaneously, researchers face risks such as secondary traumatization, moral dilemmas when responding to offense-supportive accounts, and potential public criticism within a punitive climate. To address these challenges, we propose strategies including mindfulness, collegial dialogue, and flexible role negotiation. The findings from the Scandinavian studies largely converge and may be transferable to other contexts beyond the region. This paper provides a context-sensitive toolbox for ethically grounded interview research with ICSOs and invites discussion on methodological and ethical reflexivity.