The ethics of researching intimate partner violence in global health: A case study from global health research

Abstract

ABSTRACTThere has been an increase in attention to intimate partner violence (IPV) as a health issue that contributes to the spread of HIV, physical and emotional stress, depression, substance use, serious injuries, and higher rates of mortality in low-income settings. This paper explores the ethical implications raised by research on IPV by global health scholars. Drawing on Hedgecoe’s work on critical bioethics to analyse a qualitative study of IPV in Rwanda, this paper discusses the risks and benefits of conducting research on IPV as part of the global health agenda. We discuss ethical issues that have become evident through our work in this area, including: raising IPV as an issue of concern in women’s lives in settings where economic support for women experiencing IPV may not exist; recording interviews and focus group discussions in contexts with significant government surveillance; ethical tensions in appropriating local voices in ways that position women as ‘victims’ of violence; and the risks associated with framing IPV as a global health issue separate from feminist advocacy. We recommend more tailored approaches to ethics in IPV research, which considers the specificity of the social, cultural and economic context.