Will there ever be a time in anybody's life when they're not thinking about what I did? Exploring the expectations of people convicted of sexual offences, regarding their release from medium and long-term custodial sentences.

This study, conducted in England, focused on men with a conviction(s) for a sexual offence(s) serving medium or long-term custodial sentences (≥5 years) and who were within two years of release. It explored how participants viewed their release from custody. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten participants; data were analysed using Visual Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (VIPA). Four superordinate themes were derived from the resulting dataset: (i) The desire to disassociate from the ‘sex offender’ label; (ii) ‘I’m going to live a life to everybody else’s rules’: An uninspiring future; (iii) Obstacles and obstructions; and (iv) ‘I’ll need all the support I can get’: Successful reintegration is dependent on support. In summary participants expressed feeling that their futures looked bleak as result of their convictions and the associated stigma. The implications for supporting men who have served medium or long-term custodial sentences for sexual convictions are outlined, and practical recommendations are put forward, such as the importance of licence conditions being individualised and proportionate to the risk of future harm that they pose.