S Paul, S Jana, G Roy, A Saha

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HOW THE OBJECT OF RESEARCH TRANSFORMS INTO
RESEARCHER A DURBAR EXPERIENCE

• S Paul, S Jana, G Roy, A Saha
• Session THAD03 (02) (Thursday, 17 August
  1615-1745)
• Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (DMSC),
• 44 Balaram Dey Street, Kolkata 700006, India
• Website www.durbar.org

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Introduction The Durbar Mahila Samanwaya
Committee (Durbar)

• Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (DMSC) was
  formed in 1995 when sex workers and peer
  educators of the Sonagachi Project decided to
  organize and empower themselves to fight for
  workers rights.
• DMSC currently has 66 branches and runs around 50
  interventions that include STI/HIV prevention,
  healthcare delivery, micro-credit,
  anti-trafficking activities, research and
  education among 65,000 sex workers throughout the
  state of West Bengal

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Why Durbar advocates to use of representatives
from sex worker community as researchers

• To prevent human rights violations
• To add value to research
• Inspire confidence among the research subjects
  that the research product will be owned by the
  community and be used for their benefit
• Sex workers are more likely to trust researchers
  who are from their own community, especially
  because they can hold them accountable to
  promises of privacy and confidentiality
• Sex workers are more able to exercise their right
  to refuse response when researchers are from
  their community

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Sex workers as Researchers The Durbar Experience
First Steps

• 1992 PEs inducted in the Sonagachi Project began
  to document
• SWs everyday realities
• Barriers SWs faced in adopting safer sex
• The ways to improve service delivery and reach
• Other needs of sex workers that needed to be
  addressed urgently.
• Effect Increasing flexibility of project design
• Limitation The primary role of PEs was as change
  agents besides they had a range of other
  responsibilities and roles.

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Second Step The Evolution of the Ethical Review
Committee on Research (ERCR) of Durbar

• Central principles
• Research among sex worker communities must have
  approval of and permission from the community.
• Informed Consent At community level and at
  individual level
• Rights of individual respondent
• Ownership of research products by respondents
• Overseeing research activities by an independent
  body

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Sex workers as researchers The DMSC-TAAH Project

• Theory and Action For Health collaboration with
  DMSC. Funded by BMGF.
• Research title Social Approaches to Health and
  HIV Prevention the Sonagachi Project
• Objectives of the research were
• To develop a team of researchers from the sex
  worker community
• To identify the social approaches that worked
  successfully in Sonagachi Project
• To document the successes
• To develop a model of the Sonagachi Process
• To develop learning resources.

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Process

• Recruitment 5 sex worker community research
  consultants (SWCRC) recruited in January 04
• 3 sex workers and 2 adult daughters of sex
  workers.
• Training Research team given initial and
  follow-up trainings in
• Participatory approaches and methods
• Conducting in-depth interviews and administering
  questionnaire surveys
• Data entry and analysis of qualitative and
  quantitative data
• Documentation and computer skills
• Videography and digital still photography
• Developing learning resources from case-studies
• Presentations using digital technology
• Fieldwork with technical support

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Examples of work done by sex worker
researchers-1 FGD done in the field
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Achievements of DMSC-TAAH Research Team

• Conducting DMSC-TAAH Research and documentation
  (since last two years)
• 30 FGDs using participatory mapping and diagram
  methods
• 90 in-depth interviews
• Research on reasons for the success of Usha
  Cooperative
• Research on experiences of sex workers who were
  married before joining the trade
• Assisting development and updating of Durbar
  website (www.durbar.org)

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• Conducting other Research for Durbar to improve
  service delivery
• Case study on Domjur Sex work site commissioned
  by the University of Nottingham
• Study on the prevalence of violence in sex work
  sites
• Clinic-exit interviews to find out clinic
  satisfaction among sex workers attending Durbar
  clinics

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• Supporting and Documenting rights-based
  activities of Durbar
• An exhibition on 12-Years of Sonagachi (2004)
• Documenting the 3rd State Conference of Sex
  Workers (2005)
• Documenting the First Conference of Sabar People
  at Amlasole (2005)
• Assisting in making DMSC-TAAH research products
  for dissemination
• Data entry and analysis for Durbar Violence
  Research
• Helping videography
• Disseminating research outcome to sex workers
  community across the country.

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Examples of work done by sex worker
researchers-2 Result from data analysis (Durbar
Violence Study)
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Examples of work done by sex worker
researchers-3 Disseminating research findings

• Photograph of DMSC-TAAH team members using LCD
  and laptop to present findings to sex workers

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Examples of work done by sex worker
researchers-4 Storyboard for Learning Resource
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Examples of work done by sex worker
researchers-5 Documenting Durbar activities
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Challenges to developing researchers from sex
workers communities

• Lack of acceptability among mainstream
  researchers
• Lack of belief among non-sex workers that sex
  workers can do it as well as us
• Lack of access to public forums of researchers
  from the community to present findings
• Lack of acknowledgement of sex worker
  researchers right to authorship

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Challenges of research among key population
groups Durbars viewpoint

• Violation of rights of key populations and
  marginalised communities at risk to HIV
• There is a need to evolve global agreement on HIV
  research on key populations (sexworkers female,
  male and TG, MSM, IDUs, long-distance transport
  workers and PLHIV) that safeguards their rights,
  dignity and privacy.
• Research methods that involve community
  representatives from design stage to outcome
  stage
• Ownership of research products must be ensured

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Conclusion

• Through the DMSC-TAAH research process, Durbar
  has proved that given the opportunity, sex
  workers are more appropriate and effective
  researchers of their own communities
• Participation of the community members as
  researchers minimises the possibilities of
  unethical research practices
• A strong ethical review board run by and in the
  interest of the researched community is essential
  for protecting and promoting the rights of the
  research subjects
• Replication of this experience is recommended to
  provide sex workers a voice in setting research
  agendas that are "aimed at them."

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Acknowledgements

• All sex workers and their children who
  participated in DMSC-TAAH research
• Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee
• Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
• The DMSC-TAAH Research Team
• Ms Bharati Dey, Program Director Durbar
• Consultants of the TAAH Group

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Thank you