Ethical Care and Justice in community-engaged research with communities experiencing surveillance and policing

• In Event: Poster Session

Abstract

Incarceration and police surveillance have affected under-resourced communities of color and contributed to various mental health issues such as anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. With experiences of surveillance impacting one’s well-being, it is critical to explore how community-engaged scholars can create research spaces to explore issues of surveillance in ways which promote reflexive knowledge production as well as power equity, social and political advocacy. This project utilized a photovoice method followed by semi-structured interviews to explore how 20 justice-involved individuals view their community, their familial relationships, interactions with police and how this shapes their mental and physical health.
Findings reveal that communities navigating policing and surveillance perceive the research process as a context for telling their stories. The use of photos is seen as critical for reflecting on how experiences of policing and violence shape one’s health. Participants also discussed how researchers’ telling of their own stories is important to building trust. While participants reported risks of emotional distress, sharing stories through photos within group sessions and community exhibits about how surveillance shapes well-being was seen as an advocacy opportunity. The implications underscore the need for greater considerations of how experiences of multi-system oppression impact the way we conduct research.

Authors

• Alana Gunn, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Yvonne Isom, Arizona State University

• Sage Kim, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Linda Weatherspoon, Roll Call Organization