Whose Voices? Whose Knowledge? A Feminist Analysis of the Value of Key Informant Interviews

Key informant interviews are a stalwart of qualitative research, particularly policy-focused research. So ubiquitous is this research method that it is sometimes taken for granted that key informants indeed have important knowledge and value. This commentary interrogates the emphasis that is sometimes placed on key informant interviews over other qualitative research methods, asking important questions including: why are these informants “key,” and who says they are “key”? This article uses a feminist lens to analyze key informant interviews, suggesting that the power and privilege surrounding key informants might inadvertently lead to key informant interviews being less participatory and more infused with vested interests than researchers might admit. Within the hierarchy of research methods, key informant interviews may be positioned as producing more valuable knowledge because of the status and expertise of the person being interviewed. Their “expert” status may lead to assumptions that key informants understand and represent their communities. This article draws attention to the gendered consequences of prioritizing the knowledge of key informants, contrasting this with feminist perspectives on knowledge production which value the voices and perspectives of “ordinary” community members. This article also points to the methodological advantages which power-holders benefit from when they participate in key informant interviews compared to focus group discussions or surveys, advocating for greater community voice (especially women’s voice) through in-depth interviews with “ordinary” women and increased critical analysis of the limits of key informant interviews. </jats:p

The space between us: feminist values and humanitarian power dynamics in research with refugees

International humanitarian and development agencies striving to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment sometimes neglect to recognise the power hierarchies present in their own engagement with communities. Drawing on research on Syrian refugees and humanitarian workers in Jordan, this article explores the research and monitoring and evaluation practices of international humanitarian agencies. It suggests that the emphasis on generating evidence has resulted in more transactional and less relational engagement with refugees. This paper asks how feminist values can inform research with refugees, and explores how these values may provide less-extractive ways of engaging with displaced populations. // Les agences humanitaires et de développement internationales qui s’efforcent de promouvoir l’égalité entre les sexes et l’autonomisation des femmes négligent parfois de reconnaître les hiérarchies de pouvoir présentes dans leurs propres interactions avec les communautés. Cet article s’inspire de travaux de recherche menés parmi les réfugiés syriens et les travailleurs humanitaires en Jordanie pour examiner les pratiques de recherche et de suivi et évaluation des agences humanitaires internationales. Il suggère que l’accent mis sur l’obtention de données probantes a donné lieu à des interactions plus transactionnelles et moins relationnelles avec les réfugiés. Ce document pose la question de savoir comment les valeurs féministes peuvent éclairer les recherches menées parmi les réfugiés, et tente de déterminer comment ces valeurs pourraient fournir des manières moins extractives de dialoguer avec les populations déplacées. // Las agencias internacionales humanitarias y de desarrollo cuyos esfuerzos se dirigen a promover la igualdad de género y el empoderamiento de las mujeres, a veces descuidan reconocer las jerarquías de poder presentes en su propia intervención en las comunidades. El presente artículo analiza las prácticas de investigación, monitoreo y evaluación de las agencias humanitarias internacionales tomando como punto de partida una investigación sobre refugiados sirios y trabajadores humanitarios en Jordania. Al respecto sugiere que poner el énfasis en generar evidencia da lugar a un intercambio más centrado en lo transaccional que en lo relacional con los refugiados. Así, este artículo se pregunta cómo los valores feministas pueden aportar a la investigación con refugiados, examinando si es posible que proporcionen formas menos extractivas de interactuar con las poblaciones desplazadas

From the Inside Out: Gender Mainstreaming and Organizational Culture Within the Aid Sector

Many international non-government organizations (INGOs) implement interventions designed to promote gender equality, investing significant resources into embedding gender considerations into programmes through the strategy of gender mainstreaming. However, despite their altruistic mission, INGOs place less focus on addressing culture and power hierarchies within their organizations. This article suggests that many INGOs fail to walk the talk on gender equality. Through an analysis of recent challenges facing the development and humanitarian aid sector, including gaps in safeguarding and #AidToo, this paper emphasizes the importance of addressing gender equality from the inside out. It draws on feminist perspectives, the notion of the “deep structure” of organizations and the author’s own experiences to argue for the need to address gendered, racial and colonial power hierarchies within the organizational culture of INGOs. The article argues that it is no longer sufficient to reduce gender mainstreaming and inclusion to programming interventions, and that INGOs need to reflexively and intentionally tackle power and inequalities within their own culture and structures.</jats:p

Syrian refugees: thinking beyond gender stereotypes

The dominant gender narratives among NGOs responding to Syrian refugees, and their subsequent interventions, are based on sometimes simplistic understandings of the ‘traditional’ Syrian household and power dynamics

Gendered Power Struggles beyond the Male-Female Dichotomy

Analysis of gendered power struggles often describes men's use of power over women. In some academic research, as well as analysis by development and humanitarian agencies who seek to promote gender equality, power may be framed narrowly. Such analysis may neglect how family relationships are shaped not only by gender but also by intersections between gender and age. This article is based on feminist ethnographic research among Syrian refugees in Jordan as well as interviews with humanitarian workers. It uses accounts of power struggles between Syrian mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law to illustrate how family dynamics shift as women advance in age. The paper complicates assumptions about men's power, arguing that policy-makers and gender practitioners should also consider how older women use power

Challenging Sensationalism: Narratives on Rape as a Weapon of War in Syria

Rape during conflict is often over-simplified and sensationalised in the accounts of international humanitarian agencies. This article suggests that such narratives on rape are connected to the way international tribunals and courts have narrowly framed the crime of rape. Limited legal constructions of rape reinforce a hierarchy where rape is seen as more worthy of protection than other forms of gender-based violence - a hierarchy that international humanitarian agencies perpetuate through their narratives on rape during conflict. Based on ethnographic accounts from Syrian women and men, this article draws attention to the problematic consequences of focusing on sensational narratives. It aims to reposition rape - and gender-based violence more broadly - within unequal power structures and a wider system of women’s subordination. It argues that while less incendiary, other kinds of gender-based violence during conflict may be just as insidious as rape

Refugiados sirios: más allá de los estereotipos de género

El discurso de género predominante entre las ONG que trabajan en la respuesta a la situación de los refugiados sirios, así como sus intervenciones, se basan en interpretaciones a veces simplistas de la familia siria “tradicional” y sus dinámicas de poder