DEVELOPING ETHICAL GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCH (2019)
York University’s Centre for Refugee Studies, the Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) and the Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies (CARFMS) partnered to develop ethical considerations for research with refugees plus tools for community organizations and refugees who are asked to participate in research. Building on these Canadian-specific guidelines, the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM) undertook to develop this broader code of ethics, which was adopted by the membership in November 2018.
Citation: Clark-Kazak, C. (2019) ‘Developing ethical guidelines for research’, Forced Migration: The Ethics Issue, 61.
Legal and Ethical Issues in Data Collection on Trafficking in Persons (2019)
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There are many legal and ethical complexities at play in how anti-trafficking researchers and professionals undertake TIP data collection. The legal and ethical frameworks relevant to TIP data collection differ by country, context and project and may also be informed by a range of other factors, including the type of data being collected, who is collecting data, where data collection takes place, who is funding data collection, whether data collection involves a group requiring special consideration, whether there are emerging issues affecting the existing legal and ethical framework and so on. This study explores the legal and ethical issues that arise when conducting TIP data collection, including the intersections and, at times, the tensions between the two. It examines legal and ethical issues in the context of traditional types of data collection, as well as emerging forms of TIP data collection. This study draws on concrete examples and experiences of those working in the field of TIP data collection from different countries globally to identify what issues and problems may arise, how these may be addressed, as well as the complex on-going discussion and debate around these issues, which remain largely unresolved. The study aims to encourage discussion around these complicated issues, while acknowledging the grey zones in ethical and legal assessments of how TIP data is and should be collected and protected.
Citation: McAdam, M., R. Surtees and L.S. Johnson (2019) Legal and Ethical Issues in Data Collection on Trafficking in Persons. Washington, D.C., United States: NEXUS Institute.
The Science (and Art) of Understanding Trafficking in Persons: Good Practice in TIP Data Collection (2019)
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This study identifies and explores good practice in TIP data collection in the areas of protection and prosecution, to inform and guide future anti-trafficking efforts. It begins by outlining what constitutes good practice in TIP data collection and the criteria to be considered in making this assessment (for example, data quality; relevance and usefulness; accessibility; timeliness; cost appropriateness; and attention to legal and ethical issues). The study then uses these criteria to examine current TIP data collection and research practices in different countries and regions, including the strengths and limitations of the various approaches. The study outlines five stages of TIP data collection – 1) design and planning; 2) data collection; 3) storage, maintenance and management; 4) analysis; and 5) use, presentation and dissemination – and explores the raft of issues that may arise at each of these stages as well as good practice examples at each particular stage. It draws on existing research and resources on TIP data collection, as well as the collective knowledge and experiences of TIP researchers, data collectors, TIP experts and trafficking victims globally to offer practical guidance, lessons and tools in how to implement TIP data collection efforts. The target audience of this publication is anti-trafficking professionals, organizations and institutions that are currently or are planning to collect TIP data.
Citation: Surtees, R., A. Brunovskis and L.S. Johnson (2019) The Science (and Art) of Understanding Trafficking in Persons: Good Practice in TIP Data Collection. Washington, D.C., United States: NEXUS Institute.
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN RESEARCH ON SEXUAL EXPLOITATION INVOLVING CHILDREN (2019)
This paper attempts to unpack some of the critical ethical considerations for research on sexual exploitation that involves children. In doing so, there is recognition that much of the literature and more specifically the guidance available, primarily relates to more general research involving children. This paper therefore attempts to focus in narrowly on the specificities of research on sexual exploitation involving children while reverting where necessary and appropriate to the more general literature and guidance pertaining to research involving children on sexual violence, which raises similar if not many of the same ethical issues.
Citation: ECPAT International (2019) Ethical considerations in research on sexual exploitation involving children. Bangkok, Thailand: ECPAT International
This paper provides reflections on some of the key ethical questions surrounding fieldwork on forced migration. The aim is to bring together multi-disciplinary debates on research ethics; in lieu of stating presumably neutral, objective and universally applicable answers, the paper critically discusses guiding principles and practical issues, and proposes ways forward in order to spark further discussions. For that, a paired view on research ethics is used, as a code of conduct for scholars as well as a framework for normative scrutiny of research in a broader sense. Subjects in this paper include harm in and due to fieldwork with a proposed Do No Harm analysis to minimise risks; relations and responsibilities of researchers to participants and among research teams with reflections on participatory approaches; transfer of results with scholars and humanitarian agencies but also with participants; and benefits of interdisciplinary platforms for exchange to openly address difficulties and opportunities in “the field”.
Citation: Krause, U. (2017) Researching forced migration: critical reflections on research ethics during fieldwork. Oxford, United Kingdom: Refugee Studies Centre.
BRIEFING PAPER: SEEKING FEEDBACK FROM TRAFFICKED PERSONS ON ASSISTANCE SERVICES: PRINCIPLES AND ETHICS (2015)
This briefing paper is one of three in which GAATW sets out the main findings of what people who have been trafficked say about certain themes. This paper describes the ethical issues faced by the researchers and what measures they took to address these. This paper is not meant to provide a final word or guideline on this theme. Rather, the authors are sharing it in the spirit that we would like to improve our own practice; with the intention to include the voices of trafficked persons into our work.
Citation: GAATW (2015) Briefing Paper: Seeking Feedback from Trafficked Persons on Assistance Services: Principles and Ethics. Bangkok, Thailand: Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women.
DATA PROTECTION STANDARDS FOR NGO SERVICE PROVIDERS (2015)
The purpose of the draft standards is to provide guidance to anti-trafficking NGOs, including counselling centres to protect privacy rights of trafficked persons. It aims at setting a framework of action to evaluate, monitor and initiate data protection impacts in the daily counselling work as well as to assist establishing a long-term data protection strategy in antitrafficking action by NGOs. The draft standards are a ‘living document’ and open for feedback by practitioners. The standards were developed within the project datACT – data protection in anti-trafficking action in 2014
Citation: datACT (2015) Data Protection Standards for NGO Service Providers. Germany: KOK and La Strada.
ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING AND INTERNET RESEARCH: RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE AOIR ETHICS WORKING COMMITTEE (2012)
The first version of the AoIR Ethical Decision-Making document was released in 2002, after two years of international and cross-disciplinary collaboration. The document and its guidelines emerged from a series of extensive dialogues among experienced researchers facing and resolving ethical issues in internet research, philosophers, and other members of AoIR’s international, interdisciplinary community. The intention was to develop guidelines from the bottom up — i.e., out of the day-to-day practices of researchers in a wide range of disciplines, countries and contexts, in contrast to a more usual top-down approach that tries to provide a universal set of norms, principles, practices, and regulations. This approach was crucial because the enterprise of internet research is expansive — that is, globally informed — but also situated in innumerable locales. The 2002 document has subsequently received much use, and has been cited and used in a wide range of publications by a diverse number of disciplines. The AoIR Guidelines document has also been used by research ethics boards (REBs) and institutional review boards (IRBs) when making decisions about internet research-based protocols.
Citation: Markham, A. and E. Buchanan (2012) Ethical Decision-Making and Internet Research: Recommendations from the AoIR Ethics Working Committee, Version 2.0. Association of Internet Researchers.
GUIDE TO ETHICS AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN COUNTER-TRAFFICKING: ETHICAL STANDARDS FOR COUNTER-TRAFFICKING RESEARCH AND PROGRAMMING (2008)
This Guide is part of a wider initiative with the purpose to: 1) Address the need for a broader and more updated set of guiding principles for counter-trafficking research and programming that addresses all groups and persons involved, including men, communities, and trafficked persons still in the harm environment; 2) Implement the Ethics and Human Rights in Counter Trafficking set of seven guiding principles and practical tools, for mandatory use by all UNIAP-supported researchers and programmers interfacing with trafficked persons and those affected by human trafficking; 3) Develop practical tools for researchers and programmers to ease the integration of ethical practices in day-to-day counter-trafficking research and programming, and to increase understanding, absorption, and application of human rights-oriented concepts such as informed consent, confidentiality, and non-coercion; and 4) Disseminate the guidelines and tools to implementing partners and donors around the world to test, provide feedback on, and implement, with the goal of raising the standard of ethical conduct and rights-based practice in counter-trafficking world-wide.
Citation: UNIAP (2008) Guide to Ethics and Human Rights in Counter-Trafficking: Ethical Standards for Counter-Trafficking Research and Programming. Bangkok: United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking.
ETHICAL APPROACHES TO GATHERING INFORMATION FROM CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS IN INTERNATIONAL SETTINGS: GUIDELINES AND RESOURCES (2005)
This publication was developed in response to a growing need for practical guidance on collecting information from and about young people. The initial need for such recommendations was identified in the context of activities being conducted among children and adolescents affected by HIV and AIDS. However, they apply equally well to gathering information from young people to address other health and social welfare conditions and difficult circumstances, such as those who have experienced abuse, trafficking, or displacement. This document aims to provide guidance through a maze of ethical issues that require consideration when working with young people. It is not a methodological handbook describing approaches to working with young people. Although methodological and ethical concerns may often overlap, for example when considering interview techniques suitable for use with children, investigators should refer to other sources for specific methodological guidance. Ethical practice often requires finding a balance among several different sets of demands. There are no easy answers to any of the questions discussed. The issues are presented in order to explore possible responses and promote discussion and collaboration among people who address them from different perspectives.
Citation: Schenk, K. and J. Williamson (2005) Ethical Approaches to Gathering Information from Children and Adolescents in International Settings: Guidelines and Resources. Washington, D.C., United States: Population Council.