Reflections on the use of FPAR as a research methodology for sex worker (and key populations) research

In this paper, we share some personal reflections of straddling different research roles in a doctoral study entitled Queering Sex Work and Mobility in South Africa. We highlight the importance of using a Feminist Participatory Action Research (FPAR) methodology when conducting studies with migrant and mobile sex workers as it offers participants an opportunity to express their lived realities and embodied knowledge(s) beyond linguistic barriers. Through our reflections, we demonstrate that marginalised communities can become co-creators in knowledge production processes, not just the givers of stories (aka ‘poverty porn’) but integral members of the research team who actively contribute towards the conceptualisation, data collection, analysis, publishing and distribution of scholarship.