Gender violence through the eyes of the Bajan youth: using Photovoice methods in small island states

Abstract

The ‘culture of silence’ around gender violence is an acute challenge in Barbados. As in other small island spaces, a fear of gossip and barriers around anonymity limit the space available for young people to discuss and disclose cases. Despite young people having been identified as a target group for gender violence prevention work, there is a notable gap in Caribbean scholarship around qualitative research with young people.

To contribute to this oversight, this article is a part-reflection from a research project that sought to amplify young Barbadian’s perceptions of gender violence. The focus of this article is methodological, providing fresh insight into the ‘what, why and how’ of using Photovoice methods in small island contexts. It offers an understanding of what the approach looks like, its value in exploring gender violence phenomena and reflects on its potential to stimulate critical consciousness as participatory-action research. It concludes by advocating Photovoice methods in spaces where young voices are marginalised.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research article stems from the findings of a master’s thesis conducted as part of the Erasmus Mundus Master’s degree in Education Policies for Global Development delivered by the GLOBED consortium. The consortium is made up of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, University of Oslo, University of Malta and University of Amsterdam. The author would like to thank Dr Elizabeth Maber for supervising this research and the whole Dance4Life Barbados team. A special thanks goes to the young people who participated in this study: thank you for your honesty, creativity and your energy.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

[1] Intergenerational sex is when partners have 10 year or greater age disparity between them (UNAIDS 2015, 29).

[2] Buller is derogatory term for a homosexual male.

[3] The Barbadian Domestic Violence (Protection Orders) Act, Cap. 130A was amended in 2016.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elizabeth Ascroft

Elizabeth Ascroft holds an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master degree in Education Policies for Global Development (GLOBED) from a consortium partnership consisting of the University of Oslo, Autonomous University of Barcelona, University of Amsterdam and University of Malta. Elizabeth comes with a background in youth development and sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) programming. Having worked with young people in Barbados, Zambia and the UK, her professional experience shaped her interest for youth-centred research methodologies. She is currently working as a gender speciliast, bridging research, policy and practice with the INGO The Girl Effect.