‘How could you be so stupid?’: Understanding the Experience of Partners of People Who Have Been Convicted of a Sexual Offence

People who commit sexual offences are often seen as monsters or deviants by society, and their families are also affected by the stigma and punishment that follow. However, little is known about the lived experiences of the partners of people convicted of a sexual offence, especially in the UK context. This chapter aims to fill this gap by discussing research using interpretative phenomenological analysis to explore how people cope with the disclosure of their partner's offence, the social ostracism they encounter, and the uncertainty they face for the future. The chapter also challenges the notion of collateral damage and proposes using the term symbiotic harms to capture the interdependencies of intimate relationships and the shared consequences of punishment.