Jones Nicola, Pincock Kate, Alheiwidi Sarah
Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE), ODI, London, United Kingdom.
Refugee Studies Centre, Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Front Res Metr Anal. 2024 Dec 18;9:1330289. doi: 10.3389/frma.2024.1330289. eCollection 2024.
This paper discusses how harmful practices such as child marriage and female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) can be effectively explored through feminist methodologies that center the lived experiences of girls and young women affected by these issues. Eliminating harmful practices, which are rooted in gender inequality and have myriad life-course consequences for those who experience them, has become a global priority in recent years. However, dominant conceptualizations of the drivers and consequences of child marriage and FGM/C often fail to adequately engage with or reflect adolescent girls' own nuanced experiences and perceptions. A feminist epistemology underlines the need for research methods that can uncover and address dynamics of power and inequality, as well as the complexities of voice and agency surrounding these practices, both of which perpetuate harmful practices and marginalize the voices of those who are most affected. The paper discusses adaptations to two key sets of methodological tools used with adolescent girls in research on FGM/C in Ethiopia and on child marriage in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Jordan, and Lebanon as part of the Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) longitudinal study. The purpose of these tools was to address and shift power inequalities, both within the research process and in girls' lives more widely. The Social Network Hexagon, Marriage Chain, and Marriage Decision-Making Pairs tools were used to explore child marriage decision-making processes and dynamics and outcomes for adolescent girls. A vignette-based discussion on FGM/C and child marriage and a version of a Social Network Hexagon tool were used to improve understanding of adolescents' social networks and the extent to which these shape their options for change. We find that context-specific adaptations to the tools, determined through ongoing reflexive dialogue with local researchers, were key to creating space for deep reflection and engagement by girls. Exploring the wider structural and social dynamics that enable and constrain girls' agency and decision-making around harmful practices was also key. It enabled insights into the complex ways in which gender- and age-based social norms are exercised within girls' socio-ecological contexts, as well as possible entry points for change.
本文探讨了如何通过以受这些问题影响的女孩和年轻女性的生活经历为中心的女权主义方法，有效地探究诸如童婚和女性生殖器切割等有害习俗。消除这些植根于性别不平等并给经历者带来无数人生影响的有害习俗，近年来已成为全球优先事项。然而，对童婚和女性生殖器切割的驱动因素及后果的主流概念化往往未能充分涉及或反映少女自身细微的经历和认知。女权主义认识论强调需要有能够揭示和解决权力与不平等动态，以及围绕这些习俗的声音和能动性复杂性的研究方法，而这两者都会使有害习俗长期存在，并边缘化受影响最大者的声音。本文讨论了对两组关键方法工具的调整，这两组工具用于埃塞俄比亚女性生殖器切割研究以及孟加拉国、埃塞俄比亚、约旦和黎巴嫩童婚研究中的少女，这些研究是“性别与青少年：全球证据”（GAGE）纵向研究的一部分。这些工具的目的是解决并改变研究过程中和更广泛的女孩生活中的权力不平等问题。社会网络六边形、婚姻链和婚姻决策对工具被用于探究少女的童婚决策过程、动态和结果。一个基于 vignette 的关于女性生殖器切割和童婚的讨论以及一个社会网络六边形工具版本被用于增进对青少年社会网络的理解，以及这些网络塑造她们改变选择的程度。我们发现，通过与当地研究人员持续的反思性对话确定的针对工具的因地制宜的调整，是为女孩创造深入反思和参与空间的关键。探究更广泛的结构和社会动态，这些动态促成并限制了女孩围绕有害习俗的能动性和决策，这一点也很关键。它能洞察基于性别和年龄的社会规范在女孩社会生态环境中发挥作用的复杂方式，以及可能的变革切入点。
