Reflections on the process, challenges, and lessons learned conducting remote qualitative research on Violence against women during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in South Africa

dc.contributor.authorMahlangu, Pinky
dc.contributor.authorMachisa, Mercilene T.
dc.contributor.authorJewkes, Rachel
dc.contributor.authorGibbs, Andrew
dc.contributor.authorShai, Nwabisa
dc.contributor.authorSikweyiya, Yandisa
dc.date.accessioned2024-10-01T07:04:55Z
dc.date.available2024-10-01T07:04:55Z
dc.date.issued2024-01
dc.descriptionDATA AVAILABITY STATEMENT: The datasets analysed in the study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.en_US
dc.description.abstractBACKGROUND: Violence against women (VAW) research is a sensitive topic, which has been conducted mainly using face-to-face methods. The COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and restrictions on movement presented an opportunity to conduct VAW research using remote methods. We discuss how we adapted methods, reflect on lessons learned, and make recommendations highlighting key considerations when conducting remote research on a sensitive topic of VAW. METHODS: We designed and conducted an exploratory qualitative study using remote methods with 18 men and 19 women, aged 18 years and older, who lived with their partner or spouse during lockdown in South Africa. The aim of the study was to explore experiences of COVID-19 lockdown, and its link to women and children’s experiences of violence in the homes. Data presented in this paper draws from researchers’ reflections drawn from debriefing sessions during the research process, and from participants’ interview transcripts. FINDINGS: Remote recruitment of participants took longer than anticipated, and we had to re-advertise the study. We could not ensure safety and privacy during interviews. Regardless of all the safety and privacy measures we put in place during the research process, some participants had an adult person present in the room during interviews, and the researchers had no control over interruptions. Rapport was difficult to establish without an in-person connection, which limited disclosure about violence experience (amongst women) and perpetration (amongst men). CONCLUSIONS: Given the methodological and ethical challenges which limited disclosure of VAW remotely, we conclude that telephone interviews used in our study impacted on the quality of study data. Therefore, we do not recommend VAW research to be conducted remotely, unless it is essential and participants are already known to the interviewer and trust has been established.en_US
dc.description.departmentSchool of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH)en_US
dc.description.sdgSDG-05:Gender equalityen_US
dc.description.sdgSDG-16:Peace,justice and strong institutionsen_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThe South African Medical Research Council and the DST – NRF Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Human Development.en_US
dc.description.urihttps://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/en_US
dc.identifier.citationMahlangu, P., Machisa, M., Jewkes, R. et al. Reflections on the process, challenges, and lessons learned conducting remote qualitative research on Violence against women during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in South Africa. BMC Public Health 24, 33 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-17480-z.en_US
dc.identifier.issn1471-2458 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.1186/s12889-023-17480-z
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/98395
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherBMCen_US
dc.rights© The Author(s) 2024. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.en_US
dc.subjectRemote data collection methodsen_US
dc.subjectTelephone interviewsen_US
dc.subjectCOVID-19 pandemicen_US
dc.subjectCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)en_US
dc.subjectSDG-05: Gender equalityen_US
dc.subjectSDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutionsen_US
dc.subjectSouth Africa (SA)en_US
dc.subjectIntimate partner violence (IPV)en_US
dc.subjectViolence against women (VAW)en_US
dc.titleReflections on the process, challenges, and lessons learned conducting remote qualitative research on Violence against women during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in South Africaen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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