“Next Time You’ll Know What We’re About”: Follow-Up Focus Groups With Survivors of Gender-Based Violence

Focus groups are a common research method for engaging with survivors of gender-based violence. In a project exploring women’s experiences of victim blame from professionals and agencies, follow-up focus groups were held with the same participants and at their request, to allow more time and space to discuss the topic. The women who took part said that meeting again helped them to feel more comfortable with the research focus and process, with the researcher, and with each other. It also led to more in-depth and comprehensive findings than would have been captured by traditional one-off groups. This paper discusses the logistics of this adaptation to the qualitative method and the benefits of this method for research findings and the experience of participants.