Gaining ethical approval for research into sensitive topics: 'Two strikes and you're out?'

Researching sensitive topics, such as the treatment of men with intellectual disabilities and sexually abusive behaviour, present a number of ethical issues for researchers. This paper describes our experiences in working with Multi-Centre Research Ethics Committees on a research proposal designed to assess the efficacy of cognitive behaviour therapy for men with intellectual disabilities who are at risk of sexual offending. After submitting to three Multi-Centre Research Ethics Committees and spending a year trying to get ethical approval, we questioned whether:

• ? the issue of study design should be part of the Multi-Centre Research Ethics Committees remit;

• ? Multi-Centre Research Ethics Committees were sufficiently responsive to concerns raised by researchers;

• ? Multi-Centre Research Ethics Committees always understood the research; and

• ? the Central Office for Research Ethics Committees should disallow re-submission after rejection by two Multi-Centre Research Ethics Committees (‘two strikes and you’re out').