Sexual offending and barriers to employability: public perceptions of who to hire

Abstract Employment can reduce reoffending, yet many employers refrain from hiring candidates with prior convictions, particularly for sexual offences. This study explored employability ratings before and after a disclosure barring service (DBS) check public facing job. The DBS revealed either (i) rape, (ii) activity child, (iii) possession of indecent photographs children, or (iv) no criminal conviction. We measured trustworthiness, company value, role suitability the disclosure. Participants were then invited to keep reject candidate. As predicted, individuals offence perceived as less trustworthy, valuable, suitable employment. Those contact offences (sexual child 80%, 57%) received higher rejections than those children convictions (49%). provided qualitative responses their decision making. data indicates directions future research enhancing employment opportunities.