Multilayered Ethics in Research Involving Unaccompanied Refugee Minors

Abstract

Research articles about unaccompanied refugee minors (UM) have rarely addressed ethical issues. This is remarkable, given UM's specific, marginalized and vulnerable position within society, and the growing interest and developments in research ethics in refugee research. This article poses the question whether studies involving UM raise specific ethical issues compared to research on other refugee groups. We formulate personal reflections on ethical issues in a particular research project-a longitudinal study of UM in Belgium-and connect them to the existing body of literature on research ethics in qualitative and refugee research. We conclude that research ethics in studies with UM need to be multilayered because of researchers' obligation to take ethical responsibility at both the micro and socio-political levels.

The Management of Time and Waiting by Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Girls in Finland

“…Fieldwork spreading over an extended time helped to create trust between the girls and the researcher, and the child-led, fun elements of the project enabled the girls to not only give their accounts for research, but also provided an opportunity to use their waiting time in ways where their talents and interests were on show, not just their needs. This resonates with the argument by Vervliet et al (2015b) and Halilovich (2013), that research with refugee children requires more than a good grasp of relevant theories, suitable techniques or following procedural ethical guidelines. Importantly, it requires relational ethics, i.e.…”

The role of lawyers, judges, country experts and officials in British asylum and immigration law

“…With respect to as 'every day ethics' or 'micro-ethics' (Tomkinson 2015) which arose during fieldwork, we sometimes found it necessary to advise and/or assist asylum seekers2 and sometimes what was required was to listen to their stories and empathize with their situation. However, because we were not undertaking a longitudinal study of asylum-seekers we did not experience intensive and complex relationships with informants which might have required a more complex 'multi-layered' approach to their needs (Vervliet, Rousseau & Derluyn 2015). In contrast, my work as a country expert was commissioned directly by an asylum-applicants solicitor; I had no contact with individual applicants unless I attended court to provide oral testimony in their appeals.…”

Challenges and opportunities in researching the lives of young people on the move

“…Düvell, Triandafyllidou and Vollmer (2010) raise our attention to the fact that there are no specialized ethical framework that addresses the ethical implications of irregular migration research. Furthermore, Vervliet, Rousseau, Broekaert and Derluyn (2015) note that little concern has been devoted to the specific ethical challenges of conducting research with unaccompanied and separated minors.…”