Using Participatory Visual Methods in Feminist Research on Gender-Based Violence: Unanticipated Challenges and Ethical Concerns

In this article, we reflect on the processes of engaging with participatory visual methods in the context of two feminist research projects on gender-based violence (GBV): a digital storytelling project with migrant survivors in Norway and a photovoice project on sexual violence prevention with emerging adults in Türkiye. Despite the previously highlighted benefits of participatory visual methods as accessible, inclusive, empowering, and transformative approaches with the potential to bridge the gap between research and intervention, our engagement with these methods revealed significant challenges, risks, and barriers to this potential. Our journeys with these methods led us to reflexively think through the ethical issues associated with voice, visibility, representation, aesthetics, and their emotional impacts. The struggles we encountered raised doubts about the applicability of participatory visual methods to feminist GBV research and led us to argue for a more situated understanding of how, when, and with whom these methodologies work effectively and fulfill their promise. While we believe that participatory visual methods offer powerful strategies for mobilizing change and exposing the lived aspects of gender-based oppression and inequalities, we advocate for a contextualized understanding of their risks and limitations in feminist research, and for making adjustments accordingly.