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Contents

About IARS & IDRICS………………………………………………………….……….3

About this project…………………………………………………………………….….3

About this guide…………………………………………………………………...........4

Participatory Action Research (PAR)…………………………………………………5

Interviewing essentials for community interviewers…………………………….…...6

Commonality of experience………………………………………………………….…7

Ethical considerations……………………………………………………………..…....9

Duty of care……………………………………………………………………………11

Working with distress………………………………………………………………….13

Barriers to engaging with interviewees (and solutions) …………………………...15

Practical issues – how to reach the sample…………………….…………………..15

Cultural sensitivities and legal situations……………………………………………16

Age/status related sensitivies……………………………….………………………..16

Cultural approaches to narrative……………………………………………………..17

Family protection and legal status…………………………………………...………18

Religious or inter-communal barriers and bonds…………………………………..19

Use of translators……………………………………………………………….……..20

Learning from other action research projects………………………………………20

References and recommended further reading…………………………………….22

Appendix A……………………………………………………………………………..24

Stay in touch with IARS:

Tel: 0207 820 0945

Email: contact@iars.org.uk

Twitter:

Facebook:

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About IARS

IARS is a leading, international think-tank with a charitable mission to give

everyone a chance to forge a safer, fairer and more inclusive society. We

achieve our charitable aims by producing evidence-based solutions to current

social problems, sharing best practice and by supporting young people and the

community to shape decision making.

For more information about IARS and our membership scheme please see

Appendix A.

About Institute for Diversity Research, Inclusivity, Communities

and Society (IDRICS)

Buckinghamshire New University’s Institute for Diversity Research, Inclusivity,

Communities and Society (IDRICS) has expertise across a number of areas,

including education research and community cohesion and development.

Director of IDRICS, Dr Margaret Greenfields, is a social policy practitioner

specialising in working with Gypsy/Roma and Traveller communities to devise

action research programmes and has a large portfolio of research undertaken on

behalf of national and local government agencies, and charities with a particular

interest in health, economic inclusion and the accommodation needs of Gypsies

and Travellers as well as family support processes.

About this project

This three-year project funded by Comic Relief aims to generate

institutional change and increased gender sensitivity in the

treatment of refugee and asylum-seeking women, both by

harnessing existing research and by allowing the women themselves to identify

the problems they currently face through community-led action research. The

project will enable refugee and asylum-seeking women in London to design and

deliver a training programme for professionals working with refugee and asylum-

seeking women.

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About this guide

This good practice guide has been developed by IDRICS and IARS as part of a

three-year project funded by Comic Relief, which seeks to support refugee and

asylum-seeking women (RASW) in undertaking action research into the most

pressing needs faced by women who are refugees or asylum-seekers. The

project sets out to develop a programme which trains RASW women to obtain

information from their peers (other women who have gone through/are

experiencing the asylum-seeking process), with the intent of informing health

care providers and legal representatives working with RASW about how best to

engage with, and deliver services to, women who are frequently vulnerable, and

may have experienced horrific violence during their journey to safety in the UK

(Aspinall & Watters, 2010; Refugee Council, 2005).

This guide for undertaking action research with RASW is based upon discussions

with the women who are participating in the IARS research project, findings from

the literature review and also knowledge gleaned from carrying out participatory

action research (PAR) with other excluded and marginalised communities who

face similar barriers to accessing services as a result of disenfranchisement,

disbelief and prejudice (Greenfields and Ryder, 2012). The purpose of this short

publication (which should be read in conjunction with the associated literature

review which underpins this project) is to provide supporting information to the

refugee and asylum-seeking women carrying out research for the on-going

project, agencies which share IARS aims of ensuring that RASW and those

working with them receive adequate support and are able to achieve high quality

services, and activists who want to gain best practice knowledge in terms of

meeting challenges to engaging with RASW and predicting what interventions

might best limit barriers to engagement and develop solutions to community

participation in research projects.

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Participatory Action Research (PAR)

PAR is not just a method of gaining information – it is an ethically-based

approach to research, delivering a process which empowers researchers and

research participants by enabling their ‘voices’ to be heard. By working ‘with’

rather than ‘on’ communities (Greenfields and Ryder, 2012), PAR sets out to

build participants’ (both interviewers and interviewees) capacities; helping to

increase public knowledge, dialogue and centre-stage the experiences of people

who are often pushed to the margins of society, and who face economic, social

and cultural exclusion. PAR is by definition an ‘action’ model, which enables the

inclusion of case studies, interviews and a wide variety of approaches to

research projects and which is versatile and diverse in the approaches it takes to

obtaining information from informants. PAR is a cyclical process which enables

interviewers and community members (who are in the case of this study the

same people – women from diverse communities who have experienced the

asylum-seeking process) to explore participants’ experiences, feelings and

perceptions of the processes they have gone through in seeking services from

health care providers and legal advisors, through techniques of participatory

research. Once the interviewers and interviewees have reflected on their shared

and individual experiences of the processes of obtaining health care and legal

services, the lessons learnt are then explored and analysed by the research

team – comprising equally the RASW researchers and experienced academic

“My GP knew there was something disturbing me…because all

the time I had [health] problems. And it took so long for me to tell

her about my history…because I didn’t know you could tell your

GP stuff like that…so I was dying alone. It took me two months to

write that letter [my personal testimony] because for me it’s not

easy. You have these memories every day. Even now and the

time I was going to the Home Office, it was stressing me more

because I knew they would ask those questions.”

43 year old Kenyan asylum-seeking woman

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team members - who work in close partnership to consider the findings and

develop recommendations from the outcomes.

The women who are/have carried out the research with RASW (not all from their

own communities – allowing a reflection of the ‘difference’ as well as similarities

of experience amongst asylum-seeking women from the Middle East, Sub-

Saharan Africa and the Asian subcontinents) have all undertaken training and

considered reflection into the collaborative nature of PAR, allowing them to

unpick the ethical underpinnings of this model of research as well as the

challenges to working with vulnerable community members who have gone

through the asylum-seeking route.

Interviewing essentials for community interviewers

Make sure you are familiar and comfortable with the questions you will be

asking.

Answer questions an interviewee asks you honestly – make sure they know

that you can’t change their situation but that you are interviewing them in the

hope that the information they give will help to improve things for other

refugee and asylum-seeking women in the future.

Remember that the person you are interviewing is a volunteer – always be

respectful and remember they can end the interview at any time they choose.

Only ask one question at a time – and try to make sure the interviewee is

clear about what you are asking - you should remind them they can ask you

to explain a question.

Use follow-ups and probes where appropriate but take care not to cause

distress.

Offer them another interviewer if necessary or see if they would prefer to talk

to (for example) an older woman or with someone who speaks their own

language if possible. Where they would prefer, tell them you will try to see if

there is someone else who can carry out the interview with them and that you

will get back to them as soon as possible.

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Be patient with people you are interviewing.

Remember UNLESS THERE ARE CHILD OR ADULT PROTECTION

CONCERNS everything you are told (or see) is CONFIDENTIAL – only you,

the person who told you about it and your IARS link worker will ever know

who has been interviewed, and the story they have told you.

Remember to thank the woman for taking part and assure her that she has

been helpful.

Do make sure that the women who have taken part are clear that they can

always change their mind about having their information analysed and

included in the study as long as they contact you within a reasonable time to

tell you that they have changed their mind.

Let participants know when you expect the report to be completed, and

ensure that if she wishes to receive a copy or attend the launch that she has

provided an address or contact details so that she can be contacted in due

course.

Commonality of experience

One key advantage of undertaking PAR using trained community interviewers is

that both interviewer and interviewee have a broad common basis of experience

(Greenfields and Ryder, 2012). In the case of the present study, all community

researchers/interviewers are women refugees or asylum-seekers who have

experienced the fraught process of undertaking a journey to the UK to seek a

new life and once here have had to engage with lawyers and advice teams to

obtain information, receive help with legal processes and experience of

undergoing an asylum tribunal. In many cases, they have also had the stress of

preparing for and appearing at an asylum appeal (sometimes without legal

representation), a subject which the literature review found to be a fundamentally

distressing experience for many RASW.

In addition, whilst coming from a wide variety of countries and hence having

qualitatively different experiences (for example, a woman’s skin colour,

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identifying religious markers - such as wearing the hijab - or common public

‘knowledge’ of the plight of different communities of asylum-seekers) may lead

to their being treated ‘differently’ in both official situations and in public spaces,

all participants have undergone the experience of loss of community, country and

the transition to being a ‘stranger’ in Britain – meaning that despite apparent

differences, women from vastly different backgrounds have points of contact and

shared understanding. The secondary theme on which the current study is based

consists of access to healthcare. Whilst again, women’s experiences will vary

depending on language skills, place of origin, parenthood/maternal status and

existing (or emergent) health needs, a core set of needs and values will exist –

for example, working through the complexities of registering for services,

difficulties in obtaining repeat prescriptions when moving home frequently, or

language or cultural barriers which can make it difficult to explain needs or obtain

appropriate help.

Two key themes (access to legal services and health care) were selected by the

RASW researchers as the key elements of the PAR project because these act as

major barriers for women who are refugees and asylum-seekers regardless of

their country of origin or social, cultural or religious origins. Choosing these topics

offers the opportunity to obtain good evidence of the hurdles women need to

overcome to be able to make a new life in Britain and enables training to be

delivered to service providers which includes both good and bad practice, and

“People should know more about refugees and asylum-

seekers…and know that sometimes you are going through some

tough things, maybe you are depressed or you might not have

anyone to talk to…But that’s if you’re brave enough for them to

know about your situation. People like me, I’m kind of shy and I

think that if they know about me then they might be rude or not

want to attend to me.”

Congolese asylum-seeking woman

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which can lead to a vastly improved experience for women already facing

challenging circumstances.

Key practice point

Although interviewers may have broad similarity of experience it is also

necessary to remember that empathy/understanding of other women’s

experiences do not equate to identical circumstances or complete knowledge of

what anyone else is going through, or has experienced.

Both interviewers (PAR participants) and staff working with RASW need to

remember that there are many differences between women using services. An

asylum-seeker from Afghanistan may have little in common with a refugee

woman from Zimbabwe and it is important that service providers don’t think that

interviews or information provided by other RASW can act as ‘tick-box exercises’.

It is important to get a woman’s story from her, to ensure that services meet her

needs - even where valuable background trends and experiences remain the

same. Even two women from the same country might have different needs and

experiences.

Never ‘pigeon-hole’ a woman because of her ethnicity, religion or country of

origin. Don’t make ‘assumptions’ or ‘tell her story’ because you feel you know

what she wants you to share with others.

Ethical considerations

It is important for interviewers (and staff working with them) to remember that

every woman who takes part in the project is a volunteer.

The need for obtaining informed consent is critical – and interviewees need to be

reminded that they can stop the interview at any time without having to give a

reason. If they want to stop the interview they must not be pressurised to

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continue and although they should be given the chance to have a further

interview in the future if they wish – they are free to refuse this offer.

Although an interviewer will probably have had some similar experiences to the

women she is interviewing, it is important to remember that there are particular

issues which exist when working with vulnerable individuals and groups who may

be harmed by being asked to recall distressing events. There may be pressures

on interviewees which interviewers are not familiar with. For example if a family

member is present, they may not know about sexual violence which a woman

has experienced and it may cause real harm to ask a woman about experiences

which can awake strong emotions or cause problems in her personal relations

with family and friends.

When working with vulnerable women, there might be particular circumstances

when taking part in research can expose them to danger or make them more

vulnerable (for example - perhaps they are ‘illegal’ migrants after a failed asylum

appeal, and the people they are living with would not want them to talk about

their circumstances of being trafficked). The researcher has an obligation to do

everything possible to minimise any dangers caused to women by participating,

as well as a duty to be completely open about any potential danger that cannot

be eliminated. So although all interviews will be anonymised (no ‘real’ names

used) it is always possible that something a woman says might lead to her story

“They tell me to bring my children to help me to translate but I

can’t say everything in front of my children. I went once with my

eldest daughter but she wasn’t able to explain everything and it

was embarrassing. Also when my daughter couldn’t understand

all the words that I wanted her to translate she felt bad and

started to blame herself for me feeling unwell. She says to me

‘don’t say too much, I might not be able to explain everything’.”

Turkish refugee woman

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being recognised by people who know her well. If she is worried about that risk

but still wants her story to be told – speak to your organisation link worker and

see if slight changes to any information used in the report can be made, to

reduce any risk to the woman involved.

Duty of care

When an individual agrees to take part in this study she should know prior to the

interview (and the interviewer should remind her) that information gathered is

confidential unless she reveals something which means that a child or vulnerable

adult is at risk of harm. She should be aware that this would trigger a duty for the

interviewer to report their concerns to the organisation link worker. It is important

that she is reminded of this fact prior to the interview taking place. This does give

her some level of control over what she information she is providing to the

interviewer and also ensure that the interviewer has clearly revealed her ethical

responsibilities to the woman taking part in the interview.

Interviewees should also be reminded that they can stop the interview at any

time and withdraw from the survey. HOWEVER, if prior to their withdrawing from

the study they have revealed information which gives the interviewer cause for

concern in relation to child or vulnerable adult protection the woman’s withdrawal

from the study does not end the legal and ethical duty to report these concerns to

the organisation link worker who will then reflect and consider on whether there is

adequate cause to pass on concerns to the relevant authorities.

Interviewers need to be alert to concerns about child or vulnerable adult

protection and although cultural awareness and understanding of issues which

might impact on family well-being (such as living in very overcrowded

circumstances, or cultural practices such as knowledge of planned female

‘circumcision’/FGM) are important, there is a need to ensure that staff are

approached by interviewers (in the first instance) if any worries exist about an

individual’s welfare. Do not let sympathy for a woman or her difficult

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circumstances mean that someone is placed in danger or continues to

experience danger. If an interviewer has worries about an interviewee, or a

woman being interviewed discloses something of concern (such as domestic

violence, forced marriage, or children, the elderly or people with learning

disabilities being in danger) then an interviewer should NOT attempt to deal with

the problem herself (for example by giving advice) but should withdraw from the

situation after the interview, (or sooner if she is worried) and contact her

organisation link worker as a matter of urgency.

Sometimes (although this is VERY unusual) it may be necessary to end an

interview at an earlier stage than planned – for example, perhaps the interviewer

is concerned about personal safety or their own emotional health if something

has triggered distressing memories, or they feel that the interviewer really isn’t

able to engage with the interview in the way they expected or that she can’t

provide any helpful information. Occasionally, the interviewer might have heard

something which means that they feel the urgent need to speak to their

organisation link worker about child or vulnerable adult protection matters, for

example, a planned visit abroad for a child to have ‘female circumcision’ (FGM)

or for a marriage to take place which they believe could be classed as ‘forced

marriage’ as the young person does not know it is to take place, or is identified

as not being a willing party to the marriage.

Sometimes too an interviewer will need to be able to think about how to draw an

interview to a close because an interviewee is spending so long on some

questions that the interviewer is worried that she can’t finish the questionnaire

and perhaps she needs to go somewhere else (for example to collect her own

children from nursery).

It can be difficult or cause undue distress or alarm to an interviewee if the

interview is simply ended abruptly so the following hints might help in the unlikely

situation where an interviewer needs to end the interview at an early stage.

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Finish the question which you are discussing with the interviewee and

then if necessary (and where this is not too obvious) suggest that you

don’t have very long in which to complete the interview and that you will

need to try to finish off in a fairly short time-period

Move forward in the questionnaire to another topic - where this can be

done sensitively and without obviously disrupting the ‘flow’ – then

gradually work to the end of the questionnaire as rapidly as possible (as

an alternative if you want to ask the rest of the questions, run through the

questionnaire quickly, allowing short comments from the interviewee but

get through it as fast as possible to enable you to complete the interview

and leave, not forgetting to thank her for her help).

Do check that you have correct contact details for the woman if you feel

that for her sake or because of significant concerns that you will need to

terminate the interview at an earlier stage. This will help with providing

her with support or if there is need of a follow-up in relation to any of the

matters listed above.

Working with distress

More commonly, during interviews a woman might become distressed by

thinking about a topic such as family being killed, her home being destroyed or

experiences of personal violence – do not press her on the subject but move

onto another question and come back to the original one only if appropriate

and she is ready to speak to you. Remember too, that you – the interviewer –

can become upset, as talking to women who have had similar experiences might

reawaken disturbing memories. If this happens, talk to your organisation link

worker and explain how you felt – they can then provide you with support or

advice on who to speak to for help.

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The EU Code of socio-economic research (Dench et. al. 2004) reminds

researchers that there is a duty to protect interviewees AND interviewers

from physical and emotional harm as well as damage to their professional

and personal ethics. You should therefore remember to take care of yourself

as well as the women you are interviewing.

Sometimes women who are thinking about being interviewed might decide that

they want time to consider the questions, or to talk to family members about

whether they should be involved in the project. They have a perfect right to do

that. It can be irritating if you have come out to interview someone and then they

change their mind, but vulnerable people need to be aware of the stages of the

project, what the information will be used for, and to be able to consider that

taking part will probably not help THEM personally but might bring about changes

in the future. Give them clear information and remind them they can talk to a

staff member if they need to know more.

Key practice point

If the interviewer has ANY concerns about the woman she is interviewing or

other members of her household – or even the researcher’s relationship with

the interviewee (for example barriers to engagement resulting from power

differentials/age/place of birth/education etc.) these are all ethical issues.

Always seek further advice from organisation link staff and clearly specify

what your worries are, and why you feel the need to report a concern or

consider if a referral to other agencies should be made.

Decisions as to referrals onto other agencies will be made by staff members

so that interviewers’ personal situation and relationship with interviewees or

their own community is not compromised.

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Barriers to engaging with interviewees (and solutions)

In this section of the guide we consider some common issues which need to be

considered in terms of reaching women for interview, as well as ways of

overcoming communication barriers which can interfere in successfully carrying

out interviews with other RASW.

Practical issues – how to reach the sample

During the training sessions interviewers received advice on how best to ensure

that they were interviewing the right mixture of women (the sample) to ensure

that research findings provided information on a wide range of experiences and

needs.

Information is being disseminated about the project to a wide range of contacts

who are working with RASW, and in particular to agencies who run women’s self-

help and empowerment groups, as well as networks of advice agencies. In this

way we hope to be able to contact a high number of potential interviewees from

different ethnic communities.

It was decided during the training sessions that to avoid interviewers having to

‘screen’ and decide if a woman is suitable for interview (for example we want to

reach a mixture of age ranges, including grandmothers, mothers, young women

in their late teens etc) that volunteers to be interviewed will contact IARS first so

that if they aren’t needed (or if it is felt that they might be too vulnerable to

interview them without causing harm) that it is the IARS team working with

agency staff who know the women, who will include or exclude them from the

sample.

However – it might be that interviewers will be introduced to friends or relatives of

the women who they interview for the project. This way of reaching potential

interviewees is called ‘snowballing’ (as like a snowball which collects snow as it

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is rolled along the ground, the group of people involved gets bigger and bigger

through contact with women who are already taking part in the study).

Generally speaking it would be a good idea to take the contact details of the

woman you have been introduced to and then let staff contact them first to see if

they should be included in the interview. You can always say to a woman you

meet in this way that you have to have information leaflets sent out to her before

you can carry out an interview. If she has a very important story to tell and you

don’t think you will have a chance to meet her again unless you interview her at

that time, try to speak to your link worker first. If you can’t get hold of them then

try and contact them as soon as possible to let them know that the interview has

taken place.

Cultural sensitivities and legal situations

The Refugee Council (2005) conference report on working with RASW, reported

(and see further literature review for this project) that women's experience of

persecution was often different from men’s. Women’s experiences are not

necessarily taken into account in considering their claim as most asylum-seeking

procedures are based around the model of a young male who has left his country

of origin because of involvement in political activities. The IARS RASW project is

more culturally sensitive as it is designed by women for women. However, even

amongst women there will be particular cultural sensitivities which will need to be

taken into account when carrying out interviews.

Some of the key areas which should be considered when setting up and taking

part in interviews include:

Age/status related sensitivities

It can be a good idea to ensure that you know a little bit about the person you will

be going to interview before you arrive. If possible (for example where the

interview is being set up by a support group, or the interviewee is being

17

‘screened’ in advance by an IARS support worker) try to ensure that you are

aware of:

The woman’s age, culture or community, preferred name (for example - she

might wish to be called by her full name, for you to use a ‘respect’ term; or she

may have an ‘English’ name which she has adopted since coming to England).

Make sure that if possible you are aware of her religious beliefs (so for example

you don’t try to arrange to meet with her or arrive during a particular festival or

time for prayers which might cause embarrassment or distress).

Wherever possible the person arranging the interview should seek to find out if

the interviewee has any preferences over the characteristics of her interviewer:

for example she would prefer to speak with a woman who is from her own

cultural background, is younger or older than herself, or who is another

Muslim/Christian etc. She might even prefer to speak to someone who isn’t an

asylum-seeker or refugee so she should be offered that option too to ensure that

she is supported appropriately in her decision to speak about her experiences.

It is also a good idea to find out if possible if she has any illnesses, conditions, or

caring responsibilities which impact on when and how she can be interviewed or

contacted for interview (for example she might need to rest in the afternoons

because of age or pregnancy) or she may not want an interview to take place on

days when she has her husband, brother or son in the house.

Cultural approaches to narrative

If the interviewer and interviewee don’t share a culture and language (or

sometimes particularly if they do come from the same community and want to

avoid embarrassment or stigma) a woman might tell her story in a way which

shows events in a particular (favourable) light, or which ignores (or is not

understood) as involving political or gendered actions and choices.

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We know from what women tell us that Border Agencies and health workers

often don’t understand what a woman is telling them – leading to barriers to

accessing services – but an interviewer also needs to be clear what they are

hearing, and ensure that they ask questions (‘probes’) to understand what they

are being told, as well as to allow the woman to explain clearly about her

experiences.

Sometimes women will say they had ‘no trouble’ with health or legal services –

but when their story is told it is clear they received bad or inappropriate treatment

or services – it is important to encourage interviewees to think more deeply about

what went on – do not simply ‘pass over’ a subject if you (the person carrying

out the interview) thinks there is more going on that the woman indicates at first.

For example, ‘probing’ might reveal that a woman had to seek help for a health

concern on several occasions as a result of being given wrong information

initially or not knowing about her legal rights. Remember however, not to ‘put

words in her mouth’ or to make her feel bullied to give the ‘right answer’.

Family protection and legal status

As indicated above (under ethics) some women might decide that it is more

important to protect family members or the people they are living with, than to

seek help for themselves – for example if they are experiencing domestic or

personal abuse, or they are not aware of their rights to remain in the country if

they have entered as a dependent of a male asylum-seeker. A story may give

concern in relation to vulnerable adults or children at risk, but equally a woman

may provide ‘hints’ that she is experiencing domestic abuse or that she has not

received clear information about her own personal rights.

Alternatively a woman might indicate that she is a failed asylum-seeker who is in

‘hiding’ – a situation which can often place her at additional risk as a result of her

19

legal position and reliance on other people (see the IARS literature review for

further information). In some cases a woman’s story might be contradictory or

confused as a result of her trying to ‘hide’ her situation, or because she does not

have clear knowledge about her legal position. Women who may have been

trafficked into the UK may be at particular risk, for example: not reporting

domestic or sexual violence for fear of jeopardising their own or other people’s

asylum claim, or if they are working illegally to pay back debts to their traffickers,

or because they are involved in dangerous work for very low pay.

Religious or inter-communal barriers and bonds

Sometimes it can be easy to speak to a woman who shares your own religious or

country background – it can make a bond between you and enable you to find

similarities in your experiences, or mutually identify a common cultural

understanding which might be missed by someone else. You might even decide

that you will deliberately arrange to meet (or might simply come across) RASW

women through Mosque or Church activities (or in communal spaces belonging

to your place of worship) or cultural events – for example many different

communities in London hold organised events at cultural centres, community

group buildings, or in parks, particularly when events are associated with

religious or national holidays.

Whilst you might find that any of the suggestions above help you to meet other

RASW, barriers can also occur which can get in the way of obtaining an interview

or reaching out in a friendly way to other RASW. These could be because you

are members of different denominations or sects within a common faith (Catholic

and Evangelical Protestant or Shia and Sunni for example) or because of

historical tensions between your communities.

Whilst you might perhaps feel able and willing to speak to a woman whose

community/ethnic group or country of origin has been in conflict with your own

community, it does not necessarily mean that she will feel comfortable speaking

20

with you. In such circumstances (particularly if you are introduced to each other

by someone who is not aware of traditional or historical tensions or assumes you

are both members of the same ethnic or linguistic group) then it is important to let

your link worker know so that they can arrange for an alternative interviewer to

meet with the woman and explain (if necessary) why this is considered important.

Use of translators

We are aware (see further the literature review associated with this project) that

sometimes RASW are working with translators who may not accurately tell their

story because of limited linguistic/translation skills, embarrassment over some

events, or occasionally because they are asked to tell a narrative which shows

their own community in a bad light (where there are intra or inter-ethnic conflicts

in a country or region). Very often a woman might not be aware that there are

problems with the narrative presented on her behalf but sometimes she tries to

intervene or provide additional wording or accounts as she may understand more

English (or another language) than she speaks. If you are concerned that the

translator is perhaps not assisting you very well – for any of the above reasons –

then try to assure the woman that she may be re-contacted for further

information. In such circumstances you should speak to your link worker who will

discuss the best way to proceed – perhaps through their contacting an agency

who works with the woman, or through attempting to arrange a follow-up

interview using a different translator. Where you do have some concerns about

the quality of translation – even if you feel it is reasonably accurate – do ensure

that you let your project leader know.

Learning from other action research projects

All of the above discussions on potential barriers and solutions to obtaining

information are informed by information drawn from other action research

projects and programmes which IDRICS and IARS staff have worked on.

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Whilst the content of this particular programme is new, there are many

similarities which exist when working with community groups and developing

action research programmes. Research participants might wish to explore

publications and findings from other action research projects to gain background

information on theoretical models and key transferable skills and lessons which

can be gained from working in this manner. Most commonly (as found in

numerous projects):

The impact of action research on developing community cohesion and a

sense of solidarity despite the many differences evident between different

populations;

The ability of PAR to raising awareness about cultures, needs and

aspirations amongst members of the public and service providers;

Methods and the need for public education on rights and barriers to

engagement for both service users and providers;

A sense of readiness amongst excluded populations to increase

engagement and participation in working with their own communities and

public service providers;

The development of a strategic vision for ‘the best way forward for

working with excluded and marginalised populations’;

The impact on PAR participants (interviewees and interviewers) of

investment in capacity building for their communities and listening to their

voices;

Long-term and sustainable commitments between all ‘sides’ to

increasing engagement between community groups and breaking down

barriers through recognition of commonalities and human need.

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References and recommended further reading

Aspinall, P. & Watters, C. (2010) Refugees and asylum-seekers A review from an equality and human rights perspective London: EHRC Asylum Aid (2010) Unsustainable: the quality of initial decision-making in women’s asylum claims London: Asylum Aid Barnsley, J ed. (1992) Research for Change: Participatory Action Research for Community Groups Vancouver: Women’s Research Centre Dench, S, Iphofen, R & Huws, U (2004). An EU Code of Ethics for Socio-Economic Research Brighton:IES Government Equalities Office (2008) Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). London: Government Equalities Office. Greenfields, M & Ryder, A (2012) ‘Research ‘with’ and ‘for’ Gypsies and Travellers’ in Richardson, J & Ryder, A eds. “Gypsies and Travellers: Accommodation, Empowerment and Inclusion in British Society” Bristol: Policy Press Liamputtong, P (2007) Researching the Vulnerable Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications McIntosh, P. (2010). Action Research and Reflective Practice. Creative and visual methods to facilitate reflection and learning. London & New York: Routledge McIntyre, A (2008) Participatory Action Research Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications Patel V. (2001) Cultural factors and international epidemiology. British Medical Bulletin 57: 33–45. Peel M. (2004) Rape as a method of torture. London: The Medical Foundation for the Victims of Torture. Refugee Council (2005) Refugee and Asylum-seeking Women: Challenges, changes, choices. Report of a conference organized by the Refugee Council. London: Refugee Council

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Siddiqui, H & Patel, M (2010) Safe & Sane: A Model of Intervention on Domestic Violence and Mental Health, Suicide and Self-harm Amongst Black and Minority Ethnic Women London: Southall Black Sisters Walter, N (2012) The Human Spur to Action on Asylum (news article – 29/5/12) The Guardian Newspaper available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/may/29/women-refugee-statistics accessed 20/11/2012 London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)/Scottish Refugee Council (SRC) (2009) Asylum-seeking Women: violence and health London: LSHTM/SRC

Useful websites Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) UK law and policy http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime/violence-against-women-girls/female-genital-mutilation/ Forced Marriage (UK law and policy, information leaflets etc.) http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/when-things-go-wrong/forced-marriage/ Overview of Methodological Approaches for Action Research http://www.web.ca/robrien/papers/arfinal.html Learning Research and Change Methods http://changemethods.wordpress.com/ 16 Tenets of PAR http://www.caledonia.org.uk/par.htm Social Policy Association Guidelines on Research Ethics: http://www.social-policy.org.uk/downloads/SPA_code_ethics_jan09.pdf

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Appendix A IARS is a leading, international think-tank with a charitable mission to give

everyone a chance to forge a safer, fairer and more inclusive society. IARS

achieves its charitable aims by producing evidence-based solutions to current

social problems, sharing best practice and by supporting young people and the

community to shape decision making. IARS is an international expert in

restorative justice, human rights and inclusion, citizenship and user-led research.

IARS is known for its robust, independent, evidence-based approach to solving

current social problems, and we are considered a pioneer in user-involvement

and the application of user-led research methods. IARS delivers its charitable

mission:

By carrying out action research that is independent, credible, focused and current

By acting as a network that brings people and ideas together, communicates

best practice and encourages debates on current social policy matters.

By supporting the individual (with an emphasis on young people) to carry out

their own initiatives to shape decision making.

By being an authoritative, independent and evidence-based voice on current

social policy matters.

As an independent, advocacy organization we have a mission to transform young

people’s lives by enabling them to have a better future, and participate equally

and democratically in civic life. IARS young people learn to inform policies and

practices affecting them whether at a local, regional, national or international

level. IARS membership is open to anyone who believes in the charity’s mission.

Membership benefits package:

25% discount to our Annual Conference

1 hard copy per annum of Youth Voice Journal

Free membership to the Restorative Justice Research Network

25

25% discount to all our hard copy books and publications including Youth

Voice Journal.

1 hard copy of our annual impact report

25% discount of advertising space on our hard and soft copy publications

To become a member:

Email: contact@iars.org.uk Tel: +44(0) 20 7820 0945 www.iars.org.uk