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The Ethics of Participatory Dissemination: Reflections from Participatory Research on Sexual Violence with Girls and Young Women in Rural South Africa
Participatory research involves co-creating knowledge with the research participants. Ideally, the analysis of findings as well as their dissemination must also be participatory and be led by the participants themselves, and at a minimum, involve them as active and equal partners. This, participatory researchers argue, not only produces knowledge that is authentic and relevant, but is likely to generate “work that can directly impact policy, service interventions or community practice” (Liebenberg, Ikeda, and Jamal, n.d. p.1). Yet, involving participants, specifically women and girls, equally and consistently from conceptualisation of the research to the dissemination process, often proves challenging. Reasons for this range from the researchers’ commitment to privileging their voices throughout the research process, to the fact that due to unequal gender norms and the gender-based violence linked to them, they are “at the lowest end of them all” (Amnesty International, 2007.p.1) in their families and communities. While participatory dissemination is a logical step in participatory research, some ethical question emerge: What can we ethically expect women and girls who participate in our research to contribute to dissemination, particularly about violence in their communities? Does their involvement in communicating such findings put them in further danger of marginalisation or even violence? How might participatory researchers balance the need to ‘do least harm and most good’ and to “avoid any possible harmful consequences resulting from [participants’] identification” (Amnesty International, 2008, p.5), with the principles of participatory research and therefore, participatory dissemination of findings? This presentation will reflect ongoing research on sexual violence with girls and young women in rural South Africa and ethical dilemmas linked to participatory dissemination of the emerging findings and engaging the community in the implications thereof.