Project Description
Sex work research has drawn many researchers from a wide range of fields to investigate different aspects of the industry. Every research project brings its own ethical issues with it and its own way of addressing those issues. Concerns regarding confidentiality and privacy, respectful interactions with sex workers, and meaningful community involvement were some of the ethical concerns that arose.
The aim of The Ethics Project (2014-17) was to examine ethical issues currently experienced in health research related to sex work, and how such issues were navigated and/or prevented. Through our project we hoped to generate evidence to improve research ethics in practice, as well as recommendations that could help improve training in research ethics and the uptake of ethical research practices to foster more meaningful relationships with sex workers and their organizations and networks. Our activities included an analysis of current health research funding in Canada in the field of sex work and health; qualitative interviews with people involved in research including researchers, participants, and community organizations; and an analysis of documents used by organizations to foster ethical research practices.
The main study findings were shared through community reports and forums, published in academic journal articles, and be made available for public download. It is our hope that the results from this project will be used to inform guidelines and resources meant to advise research in gender, sexuality, health, and sex work throughout Canada.
KxMob
- Publication: The Ethics of Financial Incentivization for Health Research Participation Among Sex Workers in a Canadian Context
- Publication: Gaps in health research related to sex work: an analysis of Canadian health research funding
The Team
This research project is based in Vancouver, British Columbia with Principal Investigator Dr. Vicky Bungay, University of British Columbia School of Nursing. The investigative team includes Lauren Casey, Scott Comber, Adrian Guta, Eli Manning, and Colleen Varcoe.
This team of researchers comes from a variety of disciplines and has experience in sex work and health research, community-based research projects, and direct service to sex workers.
Contact Information
Principal Investigator
Dr. Vicky Bungay
604.822.7933
vicky.bungay@ubc.ca