Paper details

Paper authors	Dr. Asmat Ara Islam
In panel on	Mapping Feminist Approaches to Humanitarian Action
Paper presenter(s) will be presenting	In-Person / Online

Abstract

Abstract. Prominent models of international health research ethics hold that research ethics should be grounded in social justice. To what extent do these frameworks respond to the vulnerabilities of those who participate in health research in a cross-cultural setting so to ensure social justice? This paper argues that established paradigms of research ethics that consider only the common vulnerabilities of Rohingya refugees are inadequate for including their perspectives. First, this paper identifies various challenges in applying the current research ethics frameworks to the context of Rohingya refugees. Second, drawing on the distinction between situational and pathogenic vulnerabilities as Catriona Mackenzie, Wendy Rogers, and Susan Dodds propose in their feminist account of vulnerability, the project explains how to implement an ethics of vulnerabilities for medical research that involves Rohingya refugees. Third, this paper outlines an alternative feminist research approach grounded in the ethics of vulnerabilities better responds to the vulnerabilities of Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar. This paper is significant because it develops feminist ethical research imperatives in cross-cultural settings and may advance humanitarian actions by institutional review boards.

Back