Identity, Agency and Fieldwork Methodologies in Risky Environments by Monique Marks Julten Abdelhalim

Author:Monique Marks, Julten Abdelhalim [Monique Marks, Julten Abdelhalim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781032085463
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2021-06-30T00:00:00+00:00

Risk factor 3: ethics in the shadows

The lost sense of ethics in recent partnerships has led to personal and scientific risks, including participants’ concerns about their own and the researcher’s safety. Participants were often very vulnerable, without structural and moral support from the UNAD after the end of the partnerships with Denmark and ADD-UK (Action on Disability and Development, which collaborated on societal inclusion and advocacy with ADD-Uganda from 1996 to 2003 in Northern Uganda, and from 2001 to 2010 in other districts6). From a community perspective, this can be illustrated by the participant who addressed potential future donors in our project film A fruitful future? A video snapshot of the Ugandan deaf community (Kyambogo University, 2015). These members have few opportunities for ‘voice’, both inside and outside the community, and the video illuminates a form of research ownership.

This sense of ownership is also present in the sometimes explicit request of participants to have their (full) story written in the book that we are writing, titled Developing sustainably? The Ugandan deaf community looking back and forward (Lutalo-Kiingi & De Clerck, in press), alongside their desire for us to avoid writing about and/or completely anonymise certain contents. We try to respect and adequately deal with these requests, and tell the community’s story, while also protecting them through the selection of contents, balancing identified and anonymous information, and compiling data from different regions.

The risks for participants are similar to those connected with the politics and power hierarchies of the development context; these include exclusion and social isolation, stigmatisation, unemployment and poverty. Taking into account the social position of deaf Ugandans, for whom the deaf community is often an extended family, these risks are especially acute. The way information is shared reveals that deaf Ugandans have also become skilled in this ritual dance. It was particularly confronting when participants warned the Ugandan researcher during the interview that he had to be very careful, and described the threats to life and limb that they had experienced. In Uganda, these threats to one’s safety, reputation and livelihood are commonly known as ‘following’ and ‘poisoning’. In the meantime, the researcher also received concerns from Ugandan development partners about the resistance they encountered when requesting that all stakeholders, including the university, become involved in UgSL projects, as in the long-term partnerships.

The researchers have an ethical responsibility to deal with requests from participants who are HIV+ and want to tell their story for the sake of social change, for example, ending prostitution among young members. They are aware of the risks of stigmatisation; however, it is important that they receive support to access services and deal with the risks involved for their families. There is also an ethical responsibility in protecting the dignity of those who shared stories of poverty, war, familial exclusion, marriage issues, youth offending, abuse, exploitation and illness.

Common concerns of participants were that they wanted to understand what was going on, be informed of projects, and have opportunities to be involved. Our workshop, exhibition and

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