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Getting What We Want: Experience and Impact in Research with Survivors of Slavery
Abstract
This chapter examines the ethical and moral dilemmas present in conducting research within vulnerable populations. In particular, we explore the process of conducting interviews with trafficking victims that identify as transient minor sex workers. In light of the primary responsibility to ‘first, do no harm’, investigating the variety of unintended negative consequences implicit in data collection and presentation is a process that is both tedious and engaging. Experience and literature are employed in analysing the threats to the physical, social, and psychological integrity of all participants in this project, including the researcher, the subjects, the sponsoring institution(s), and the audiences.
... Victims may also be intimidated into not disclosing their experiences (Rothman et al., 2018). Boys may self-censor because they are concerned about reprisals or hesitate to open up because they fear criminalization for engagement in sex work, drug-related or other illicit activities (Boyd & Bales, 2016). To protect children from potential stigma and retribution from perpetrators, rigorous guidelines for maintaining privacy and confidentiality are vital (Dayal et al., 2018). ...
... Legal and research categories developed to define sexual exploitation offer definitional boundaries, but do not always correspond to the ways in which children perceive their own experiences. Children often do not self-identify as victims of sexual exploitation (Boyd & Bales, 2016;Horning & Paladino, 2016;Easton & Matthews, 2016;Edinburgh et al., 2015;Gozdziak, 2008;Ricard-Guay & Denov, 2016;Rothman et al., 2018). Whereas the ´[ At the age of 9, he was dressed 'like a girl' and sold to a man for sex by a male friend of his mother. ...
... After running away, he began to sell sex in order to survive, including dressing in women's clothing in order to earn more. researcher or practitioner may classify the child's experience as sexual exploitation, the child himself may reject this label (Boyd & Bales, 2016;Horning & Paladino, 2016;Rothman et al., 2018). Boys may see their involvement in exploitative acts as beneficial -that is, as a way to earn money or foster their independence (Edinburgh et al., 2015;Hounmenou, 2017;Mai, 2011;Ricard-Guay & Denov, 2016). ...
... If rehabilitation programs for CST survivors are based on research treating adults and children as equals, then these programs might not be suited for the different developmental levels of children. Boyd and Bales (2016) argue that "[c]urrent trafficking policies and interventions are notoriously based on faulty or nonexistent data" (p. 185). ...
... A researcher would find it extremely difficult to provide assurance that no harm is possible (Boyd & Bales, 2016). It is easier to project research practices where harmful consequences are unintentional (Boyd & Bales, 2016). ...
... A researcher would find it extremely difficult to provide assurance that no harm is possible (Boyd & Bales, 2016). It is easier to project research practices where harmful consequences are unintentional (Boyd & Bales, 2016). Researchers should consider what will provide the greatest benefit to society (Easton & Matthews, 2016) and what has the least risk of unintended harmful consequences for participants. ...
At present, there is a dearth of primary data on the experiences of the child survivors of trafficking for sexual exploitation. Qualitative research methodologies are needed to help researchers and practitioners from a variety of disciplines to understand the complex issues associated with child sex trafficking (CST), to gain greater insight into the nature of this problem, and to devise strategies to combat this form of trafficking. In this article, we report on our use of a synthesized methodology, life design narrative inquiry (LDNI), as a way to generate primary data on the experiences of the survivors. This methodology enables researchers to do research with CST survivors to gain a deeper insight into the nature of trafficking to devise strategies in different disciplines to combat this form of trafficking. Reflections on employing LDNI with child trafficking survivors revealed that this methodology is context sensitive, takes on an individualistic perspective, and leads to rich descriptions of CST survivors’ experiences. Reflections on ethical challenges revealed that gaining access to CST survivors is a complex process, protecting both the participants and the researchers against harm is challenging and that keeping confidentiality of participants is extremely important.
This chapter offers practice-oriented guidance on ethics considerations frequently encountered during data collection on migration and information and communication technologies (ICTs). It addresses a challenge shared by researchers and migration professionals who deal with personally identifiable information (PII) in the course of their work: negotiating the ethical risks involved in collecting data on vulnerable persons in an information-rich, multichannel environment. After summarising fundamental legal and ethics issues, the chapter presents a guideline for identifying, assessing and mitigating ethical risks and designing sound data collection procedures and instruments. Particular attention is given to risks that have been flagged in official ethics guidelines, but not adequately explained, such as incidental findings, cross-border data transfers and the criterion of relevance to target communities.This chapter offers practice-oriented guidance on ethics considerations frequently encountered during data collection on migration and information and communication technologies (ICTs). It addresses a challenge shared by researchers and migration professionals who deal with personally identifiable information (PII) in the course of their work: negotiating the ethical risks involved in collecting data on vulnerable persons in an information-rich, multichannel environment. After summarising fundamental legal and ethics issues, the chapter presents a guideline for identifying, assessing and mitigating ethical risks and designing sound data collection procedures and instruments. Particular attention is given to risks that have been flagged in official ethics guidelines, but not adequately explained, such as incidental findings, cross-border data transfers and the criterion of relevance to target communities.
Dieser Beitrag gibt einen Überblick über ethische Überlegungen sowie eine praxisorientierte Anleitung zu den Herausforderungen, die in der Forschung mit vulnerablen Gruppen eine Rolle spielen. Diese Herausforderungen, denen sowohl Forscher*innen als auch Praktiker*innen gegenüber stehen, beziehen sich insbesondere auf den Umgang mit personenbezogenen Daten, d.h. dem Abwägen ethischer Risiken, die mit der Erhebung von Daten schutzbedürftiger Personen in einer informationsreichen Umgebung mit vielen Kanälen untrennbar verbunden sind. Nach einer Zusammenfassung grundlegender rechtlicher und ethischer Fragen wird in diesem Beitrag ein Leitfaden zur Identifizierung, Bewertung und Abschwächung ethischer Risiken zur Gestaltung solider Datenerhebungsverfahren und -instrumente vorgestellt. Besonderes Augenmerk wird auf diejenigen Risiken gelegt, die in bestimmten Ethik-Leitlinien der EU-Institutionen zwar genannt, aber nicht ausreichend erläutert werden: zufällige Funde (‚Incidental Findings‘), Datentransfer zwischen EU und Nicht-EU Ländern und das Kriterium der Relevanz für Zielgemeinschaften.
This paper explores the disconnections between anti-trafficking discourse and the local experience of responding to human trafficking as indicated in ethnographic data from Bosnia and Kazakhstan. Using the concept of “uptake,” I examine how anti-trafficking discourse operates as a master narrative, drawing on techniques of emotion and logic, as well as a specific type of victim story. I also consider how, despite an emerging counter discourse that questions the data and challenges current policy, human trafficking discourse continues to be retold in media and reproduced in popular culture, often in ways that actually diverge from the current version of the grand narrative. In contrast to these uncritical representations, ethnographic data from Bosnia suggest that the master narrative is selective in how it represents the history of the problem and that it does not “take up” important details about the context that fosters sexual exploitation, despite Bosnia’s compliance with US policy. Conversely, Kazakhstan suffers a liminal status regardless of local efforts to prevent the problem from happening within its borders as well as evidence that the crime is not widespread. While perhaps not mythical, I suggest that the master narrative contains the stuff of legend as it occupies the critical spaces of policy, activism and development, leaving open the question of how to address the nuances and needs of responding to victims of gender violence.
The concept of vicarious trauma proposes to account for a unique collection of negative experiences among therapists providing therapy to survivors of trauma. Although the intuitive appeal of the construct has prompted several attempts at assessing and understanding the experience of vicarious trauma, research in this area to date has been plagued by a lack of baseline data, disparate results, and methodological limitations. Following a review of the extant research in this area, the authors conclude that efforts to substantiate the notion that mental health professionals working with traumatized clients are significantly and adversely affected by their clinical work has been largely unsuccessful. Furthermore, support for the construct of vicarious trauma as a pervasive experience that is unique to trauma professionals has been inconsistent.A re-evaluation of the construct is encouraged.
Human trafficking represents one of the largest criminal enterprises worldwide. International anti-trafficking efforts depend on the cooperation of individual governments to incorporate anti-trafficking measures within all levels of law enforcement. Millions of dollars have been appropriated for training and awareness programs within the USA. Research indicates, however, that there may be a lack of human trafficking awareness and training among local and state law enforcement agencies. Findings from a survey within the State of Georgia support the notion that training and awareness initiatives may not be reaching local counterparts.
This study compared vicarious trauma in a random sample of male and female clinicians who treat survivors (n=95) and those who treat offenders (n=252). A national survey was conducted with members of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) and the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC). These data were used to test the relative contribution of variables theorized to contribute to two vicarious trauma effects (avoidance and intrusions) using the Impact of Event Scale. The sample reported high levels of avoidance and intrusions. Variables associated with vicarious trauma differed based on client population served. Sequential regression analyses were used to examine theoretically derived variables. Implications for practice and further research are discussed.
Despite conventional wisdom that slavery has been eradicated, this analysis of the human trafficking literature reveals that this form of violent coercion and economic exploitation persists. However, there is little agreement upon definitions, estimates and responses to this problem. Differing academic and policy definitions and estimates of slavery are reviewed, in which most emphasis is placed upon sexual trafficking, while other forms such as chattel slavery, debt bondage and contract slavery are often under-recognized. There are a range of policy options for ameliorating this problem, which include social services, community-based interventions, harm reduction strategies and legal and economic responses.
This article explores meaning-making processes around human trafficking, using the empirical example of the Slovene press. The analysis pinpoints how the topic appears in the media, what content emphases it receives in reporting, which aspects are dealt with and which are absent, and the implications of such framing. My reading of newspaper articles shows how trafficking appears within ‘frames’ that I label ‘criminalization’, ‘nationalization’, ‘victimization’ and ‘regularization’; together, these help to shape a specific anti-trafficking paradigm, one that depicts trafficking as a criminal issue and calls for stricter policing, saving victims and tightening borders. The frames as they appear in the Slovene press are unpacked here with the purpose of opening up space for understandings of trafficking that go beyond predominant representations.
"Trauma and the Therapist" explores the role and experience of the therapist in the therapeutic relationship [with adult incest survivors] by examining countertransference (the therapist's response to the client) and vicarious traumatization (the therapist's response to the stories of abuse told by client after client). Therapists' awareness of attunement to these processes will inform their therapeutic interventions, enrich their work, and protect themselves and their clients. The authors also offer many strategies for avoiding the countertransference vicarious traumatization cycle.
The authors' approach is broad, drawing from and synthesizing the diverse literature on countertransference and trauma theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Undertaking interview-based research with victim/survivors of child abuse can be difficult and challenging for researchers. Much has been written about the impact of research on participants, but researcher effects are less explored. This paper reviews the literature on sensitive interview-based research and child abuse research. The theoretical underpinnings of researcher trauma are outlined and challenges identified and related to child abuse research using researcher reflections from the authors' interview-based research with children who have been abused and young mothers who were sexually abused in childhood. Strategies and recommendations are developed to minimise child abuse researcher trauma. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This article is intended to discuss methodological challenges to conducting research with trafficked persons in the United States. It draws from my experiences as an anthropologist involved in an ongoing book project on life after trafficking. By exploring the methodological difficulties and ethical concerns that I have faced as an anthropologist I hope to lay bare some of the methodological challenges that researchers across disciplines particularly social scientists who rely on ethnographic research are likely to confront when examining this issue. The central focus of this article is on the possibilities of collaboration between academic researchers trafficked persons and social service providers on advocacy research and writing projects as well as on the possibilities of trafficked persons speaking and writing for themselves. It also considers the role trafficked persons can play in building what the media and activists loosely term the “anti-trafficking movement” and asks what would have to happen for them to move beyond their .victim. status where they are called upon to provide “testimony” about trafficking to participating in the decision making of the direction of the movement. Since it identifies obstacles to trafficked persons (to whom I refer to in this article as ex-captives) taking the podium and picking up a pen it explores ways to mitigate potential problems when researchers “speak for” ex-captives. (excerpt)
In this paper we will discuss the production of various types of data on human trafficking analyse existing data and research and suggest methods for improving enhanced data collection techniques and developing new methodologies. We will focus both on the development of estimates of victims of trafficking as well as the production of data that describes the characteristics of this group. The discussion will be based on a review of publications on trafficking for sexual exploitation in Europe (Tyldum et al. forthcoming) as well as our own experiences from the study .Crossing Borders. on transnational prostitution and trafficking in Oslo. During our research we found some answers but also met with several questions and challenges relating to obtaining the best possible quality of data. We hope that our experience in this field may be of use to others working on the same topic a research field that indeed holds great challenges but through its urgency and importance also great rewards. (excerpt)
Within the context of their new constructivist self-development theory, the authors discuss therapists'' reactions to clients'' traumatic material. The phenomenon they term vicarious traumatization can be understood as related both to the graphic and painful material trauma clients often present and to the therapist''s unique cognitive schemas or beliefs, expectations, and assumptions about self and others. The authors suggest ways that therapists can transform and integrate clients'' traumatic material in order to provide the best services to clients, as well as to protect themselves against serious harmful effects.
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