Lessons Learned From Working Towards True Survivor-Ally Partnered Research
Michael Chen; Ashley Maha’a & Sara Woldehanna | September 22 | 11:15 am-12:15 pm
Topic: Research, Experience | Knowledge Level: Intermediate
The National Survivor Study (NSS), developed in 2020 by Polaris, was conceptualized and implemented as participatory action research. Research has been a critical need in the anti-trafficking field, but it typically tokenizes and alienates survivors. The researchers ensured wide and deep survivor engagement in all aspects of the project including who was invited and included in the project team, the way the team was structured, and the use of a variety of research tools that have been shown to be effective for getting community input and feedback (e.g., focus group discussions, individual interviews, surveys, consensus–building activities, cognitive pre-test). In the end, the NSS is the largest primary research on human trafficking (457 survivors) and has provided relevant and impactful data that is already being used to push for change in several spaces (criminal record vacatur, awareness of child custody issues, barriers to livelihoods). The critical value of the NSS was achieved not despite its challenges, but because of them, and the team’s approach to growing and learning together. It required the whole project team of survivors and allies to start a partnership journey that valued and centered different expertise, perspectives, and lived experiences as critical for the project’s success. The presenters will discuss a more equitable and inclusive way to do research that empowers survivors and leads to better findings and outcomes.
Presentation Objectives:
· Discuss how to implement projects where survivors are centered, empowered, and able to lead in partnership with allies
· Describe how the research team centered the project in a way that was survivors led
· Discuss how to ensure that the anti-trafficking movement is led not only by research and evidence but also by survivors