CSEL Journal Papers

Refugees' Experiences of Home Office Interviews: A Qualitative Study on the Disclosure of Sensitive Personal Information

This paper presents the qualitative findings of our study of people's experiences of Home Office interviews.

Bögner, D., Brewin,C. & Herlihy, J. (2010). Refugees' Experiences of Home Office Interviews: A Qualitative Study on the Disclosure of Sensitive Personal Information. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 36(3) 519-535

A paper describing the qualitative findings of interviews with people about their Home Office interviews - drawn from the same study that investigated the impact of sexual violence on disclosure (see "Impact of sexual violence on disclosure during Home Office interviews" - Bogner, Herlihy & Brewin, 2007).

The findings demonstrate the role of shame, both in people's 'imagined scenarios' (for example 18 people reported that they were afraid the interviewer would judge them negatively), and in response to the reactions and comments of the interviewers. Indeed 'interviewer qualities' emerged as the strongest factor in facilitating or inhibiting disclosure.

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