Researching Domestic Violence in Bangladesh: Critical Reflections

In-depth interviews are now an established method of qualitative research across disciplines – Geography, Sociology, Social Work and even in Medical Sciences. However, there is a dearth of discussion about the issues entailed in using semi-structured interviews in Bangladesh, especially while conducting research on sensitive issues such as violence against women including domestic violence (DV). Drawing upon our experiences of conducting 42 in-depth interviews amongst the victims of DV, who sought help from two social welfare organisations – Women Support Program (WSP) and Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), both located in Sylhet, Bangladesh, we used critical reflections on issues pertaining to data collection, sensitivity, while discussing our identities and positionalities as researchers.