Academics working with vulnerable groups should rethink “extractive” methods of results-gathering in favour of more collaborative partnerships that allow communities to set the research agenda, the head of a new project offering research training to domestic abuse survivors has argued.
In a pioneering study into coercive control led by King’s College London, victims of abusive relationships have been given specialised training to carry out qualitative research themselves, including how to design surveys, conduct interviews and undertake analysis.
Survivors will examine how mobile phones and technology can facilitate coercive control within relationships and how this kind of abuse affects women who are older, are pregnant or have small children. It will also consider how datasets held by police and the Office for National Statistics could be enhanced to enable detection of such offences.
The project is also aiming to establish a new paradigm for how researchers consult with patient or subject groups to ensure research is genuinely collaborative, explained study lead Sharli Anne Paphitis, research fellow at King’s and co-director of the Violence, Abuse and Mental Health Network.
