bridging communities in sex work research elizabeth anne wood michael goodyear ssss st petersburg,...
TRANSCRIPT
Bridging Communities in
Sex Work Research
Elizabeth Anne WoodMichael Goodyear
SSSS St Petersburg, Florida June 5 2009
Learning objectives I
• Understand why sex workers distrust and lie to researchers
• Understand how research and the research agenda harms sex workers
• Propose ways to repair damaged trust
• Understand ethical issues in sex work research and how to navigate them to produce research of high ethical and scientific quality
Learning objectives II
• Use examples of collaborative and problematic research in order to suggest ways of improving problematic studies
Learning objectives III
Participatory research• Roleplay an escort negotiating with a
difficult researcher• Roleplay a pro domme negotiating
with a difficult client• Perform a passable pole dance.• Become a better ally or sex worker
researcherIf you can stay awake long enough
Audience input
• Your learning objectives• What disciplines/backgrounds
represented?• Who has performed sex work
research?• Is planning to?• Your experiences?• Sex work experience?
Brief overview• Why we do research• Research design• Research dissemination• Responding to research• Discussion
– ethics– ways of knowing– funding dilemmas
• New directions for sex work research
“The aim of science is not to open a door to infinite wisdom but to set a limit to infinite error”Brecht B. The Life of Galileo (Leben des Galilei) 1943
Bertolt Brecht (1898 –1956)
Why we do research
• Academic advancement• Professional reputation• Funding agencies• Government priorities
• - How does the Research Agenda construct ‘social problems’
Issues
• The Research Agenda – highly politicised*– ethical implications largely overlooked – sex workers mistrust and resist
researchers “living off the backs of sex workers”
*Kempner J (2008) The Chilling effect: How Do Researchers React to Controversy? PLoS Med 5(11): e222
Ethical principle
– “act as to treat humanity…in every case as an end..never as a means”
• Kant I. Groundwork of the metaphysics of morals (1785)
The Internet: A blessing and a curseI’m a labor economist researching the escort market and got your email off the internet. I’m hoping to collect some field evidence from current or former workers in this profession.
Any feedback that you could give would be great, and will of course be kept completely confidential and used for research purposes only.
1. Do you still provide escort or companionship services?a. I’m still active.b. No, I’m no longer active.
The Internet: A blessing and a curse•Greetings,
You have been randomly selected to participate in a survey by the Criminal Justice Department at UNC Charlotte. This is a study designed to understand the ways that you use technology, including computers and the Internet in the course of your profession and day to day lives.
…This study will also ask questions addressing when you first began to use the Internet in the course of your job and your reasons for using websites, such as the EscortBlogs as a means to communicate with clients and other providers. …
Revealed: the truth about brothelsA survey into London's off-street sex industry has exposed just how widespread it is - and documents in disturbing detail the plight of the women trapped in it. Julie Bindel reports
Wednesday 10 September 2008
Friday 3 October 2008
Big Brothel research 'seriously flawed'Poppy Project research into sex workers "was based on flawed data" and "cannot be substantiated"
AN ACADEMIC RESPONSE TO “BIG BROTHEL”
Dr Teela Sanders, University of Leeds , Jane Pitcher, Independent Researcher, Rosie Campbell, Chair, UK Network of Sex Work Projects & Loughborough University , Dr Belinda Brooks-Gordon, Birbeck College, University of London , Dr Maggie O’Neill, Loughborough University, Dr Jo Phoenix, Durham University, Professor Phil Hubbard, Loughborough University, Mary Whowell, Loughborough University, Dr Nick Mai, London Metropolitan University, Dr Linda Cusick, University of the West of Scotland ,Dr Tracey Sagar, Swansea University , Kate Hardy, Queen Mary, University of London , Dr Ron Roberts, Kingston University, Jane Scoular, Strathclyde University, Professor Graham Scambler, University College London , Hilary Kinnell, Author, “Violence & Sex Work in Britain” (2008) , Dr Petra Boynton, University College London , Justin Gaffney, Clinical Specialist, Sohoboyz , Dr Elizabeth Wood, Nassau Community College , Dr Michael Goodyear, Dalhousie University, Professor Ron Weitzer, George Washington University, Dr Jackie West, Bristol University, Dr Helen Self, Author “Prostitution, Women & Misuse of the Law” (2003), Dr Hera Cook, University of Birmingham, Dr Sophie Day, Goldsmiths College, London, Dr Helen Ward, Imperial College, London, Tiggey May, Institute for Criminal Policy Research, King's College, London
International Conference on Prostitution
Los Angeles, 1997
Recommendations on Research EthicsSouth Australian Sex Industry
Network*
1. Collaboration2. Equality3. Dissemination4. Independence
*Wahab and Sloan. Ethical dilemmas in sex work research. Research for Sex Work (7) 2004
1. Collaboration
Researchers must collaborate with the sex workers they seek to study
This collaboration must include all aspects of research design, theoretical framework, methods, and dissemination
Researchers must be cognisant of issues of social, political, economic and personal power and seek to equalise power relationships with the sex workers they study
This can be accomplished by acknowledging that sex workers are the experts on their own lives; researchers are the experts on research methods, and we all stand to learn from one another
2. Equality
3. Dissemination
Researchers must bring the results back to the sex workers they study to ensure that the researchers’ interpretation of the data is accurate
Sex workers and sex work organisations are encouraged to hiretheir own researchers to conduct research of relevance to sex workers.
Or, sex workers and sex work organisations are encouraged to obtain training or consultation that would enable them to conduct their own research.
4. Independence
Collaboration requires trust• Work with community based
organizations– Learn their needs– Demonstrate your own commitment– Be willing to commit significant time and
effort– (NOTE: This is not simply about entrée)
Collaboration requires trust• Read sex worker blogs and comment
where appropriate. – By listening you learn the language and
the issues– By commenting
• reveal your perspective and your willingness to learn
• reveal what you have to offer
MAKA Project(Vancouver, BC)
In the fall of 2004, the MAKA Project, a partnership with the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, undertook a study to assess the health needs of the women who use the Drop-In Centre at WISH.
Non-malevolence(do no harm)• Anticipating potential harm
– Stigmatisation– Outing– Use of research for other purposes
Taxonomy – Avoiding conflation• Highly stratified activity• Conflation• Generalisations• Terminology e.g. Sex Worker
– Definitions– Categories– Identity
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/quarter+Vancouver+female+trade+workers+infected+with/1354034/story.html
HIV/AIDS in Vancouver, British Columbia: a growing epidemic.
McInnes CW, Druyts E, Harvard SS, Gilbert M, Tyndall MW, Lima VD, Wood E, Montaner JS, Hogg RS.Harm Reduct J. 2009 Mar 5;6:5http://www.harmreductionjournal.com/content/6/1/5
Essentialism (Ontology)
• Confusing behaviour with identity– “I am not my job”
• Evidence vs Belief• Defining subject of research
Barriers to research
How do barriers shape nature of research?
• Funding• Research ethics oversight
– Confidentiality– Safety– Consent– Bringing issues to IRBs– Alternative models – CARAS
• Attacks on researchers
Dissemination
• Who owns the data? (a priori)• Community rights to access
– Data– Interpretation– Communication strategy
• Collaborative design• Whose interests?
– Subjects– Broader community
Media
• Media training – Journalistic ethics– Media agenda– Soundbites– Avoiding nuance– Clear message– Getting feedback
Responsiveness
• Positioning studies and reports• Critical appraisal• Addressing implications for
community
Questions for Discussion I• Researchers agenda &
responsibilities• Community agenda & responsibilities • Considerations
• Beneficence• Engagement• Collaboration
Questions for Discussion II• Managing conflicting values
– Duty to subjects v society– Researchers v Subjects interests– Applied v Theoretical research– Concept of expert (researcher, subject)
Questions for Discussion III• Epistemology (Ways of Knowing)
– Theoretical, Empirical, Experiential– Privileging of positions– Blurring of occupations:
• Sexworker researchers• Degrees of outness, subjectivity
Questions for Discussion IV• Funding and the agenda
– Whose responsibility to shift priorities– Resistance– Organisation
• Political agenda– Lessons from infiltration of State and
Justice Departments – eg PEPFAR– Working with the new Administration
Questions for Discussion V• Framing and re-framing the agenda
– Health– Women and Girls – Rights and Discrimination
• Human, Civil, Women, Labour
– Constitutionality– Sexual expression– Global responsibilities
Questions for Discussion VI• Framing and reframing the agenda
cont’d– Crime, Violence
• Prohibition• War on Drugs
New Directions
• Balancing Micro, Meso and Macro factors– Political, Social and Economic factors
• Emphasising structural factors• Push and Pull drivers
• Social citizenship and responsibilisation– Social inclusion and exclusion
• Organisation factors– Moral panic and moral crusades
New directions
• Holistic examination of sex work in relation to sexuality and commerce– Balanced examination of actors and
sectors– How controls are applied discriminately
• Societal benefits– Economic– Sexual needs of specific groups– Health promotion– Therapists
New directions
• Vulnerability and the disadvantaged– Societal effects of discrimination against
groups
Summary I
• Historically sex work research has made a number of false steps through failure to engage the sex work community
• Collaborative research provides opportunities to produce more meaningful results that benefit both sex workers and society
Summary II
• Principles of Good Sex Work Research – To benefit sex workers– To influence the research agenda – To engage the sex work community– To ensure responsible collaborative
dissemination of results – To apply results constructively – To critically respond to studies and
reports that are harmful , misrepresented or misleading
Resources I
• Community Academic Consortium for Research on Alternative Sexualities: www.caras.ws
• Speak up! Media Training Materials: http://www.sexworkawareness.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/speakupmediatrainingmaterials.pdf
• http://myweb.dal.ca/mgoodyea/researchsex.htm#ethic
Contacts
• Elizabeth Anne Wood– [email protected]– http://sexinthepublicsquare.org
• Michael Goodyear– [email protected]– http://
myweb.dal.ca/mgoodyea/goodyear.html