Call for Papers - Feminist Methodologies in Research on Violence, Displacement, and Power

Feminist methodologies have been used to explore issues of power imbalance and abuse, while maintaining a self-reflective approach that seeks to address power imbalances within the research process itself. These methodologies recognize that "the personal is the political" and explicitly seek action -- namely, social change to address inequalities -- as a result of the research conducted, and at times, as part of the research process itself. It centers the lived experiences of those who identify as women and girls, and an intersectional approach that recognizes the diversity of their experiences. While focusing on women and girls, this methodology places intellectual and ethical considerations on the broader exclusions affecting people with different gender and social identities, including people with disability and political minorities.

In times of crisis, whether interpersonal or communal, existing power imbalances based on gender and age, as well as other forms of identity, can be exacerbated—while the social mechanisms meant to mitigate abuses of power, such as women’s activists and movements, may be compromised or even under attack. This special issue explores feminist methodologies within research on violence, displacement, and power. It centers the experience of researchers from diverse backgrounds and what are classified as "low- and middle-income countries", who use feminist methodologies in their work to understand and challenge narratives around violence happening within their own communities, displacement and migration, and/or power imbalances and movements to rectify them. It shares examples of research that proactively acknowledges and addresses power imbalances between researchers and the affected communities with whom they interact. This edition hopes to start and build more engaging conversations that discuss the evidence from who suffers, the drivers, and effective risks mitigation, beyond development or global labels.

For this special issue, we are seeking contributions of original research, reflection articles, and case studies, with the central theme of using feminist methodologies to explore issues of violence, displacement, and/or power.

Sub-themes include:

- Multiplicity of methods: Descriptions or examples of the methods used within a feminist approach, their strengths and limitations, and interactions with other methodologies (i.e. ethnography, participatory, grounded theory).

- Giving voice: As communications rapidly evolve, how has that affected the ways that research can give voice to women and girls' experiences? In what ways has this challenged or opened up space for new voices?

- Reflexivity and participation: Narratives that describe lived experience as 'researchers' or 'researched'.

- Social action: The tension that can exist between activism and research, and seeking legitimacy within either of these.