‘Do no Harm’: Research with Vulnerable Groups in Practice

“Immigration Detention and Vulnerable Migrants in Hong Kong” Research Methodology Sharing Series

Speakers: Prof. Surabhi CHOPRA, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law
Ms. Raquel AMADOR, Research Assistant, Faculty of Law
Dr. Sin Chi LO, Research Associate, Faculty of Law

Venue: Digital Scholarship Lab, G/F, University Library
Registration

Description:

“Immigration Detention and Vulnerable Migrants in Hong Kong” is a 3-year project to evaluate the immigration detention system in Hong Kong in relation to vulnerable migrants, including refugees, migrant domestic workers, and victims of trafficking. The project utilizes interdisciplinary and socio-legal methods to conduct the inquiry, including in-depth interviews with detainees.

The interview can be a sensitive and emotional process. In this talk, we will share our practices in minimising potential risks to interviewees, interpreters and researchers. We will share the measures we put in place to protect the mental health of interviewees. We will also discuss the training the research team undertook on interviewing vulnerable individuals, and the trainings we delivered for interpreters on interpreters’ ethics and secondary trauma. Finally, we will touch on the measures we took to ensure researchers maintained healthy boundaries when facing deeply affecting subject matter.

About the Speakers:

Surabhi Chopra is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, Chinese University of Hong Kong and heads the “Immigration Detention and Vulnerable Migrants in Hong Kong” research project.  She researches the regulation of migration, national security laws, and sectarian violence in Asia.

Raquel Amador is a researcher and civil society advocate with a special interest in refugee and migrants’ rights. Thirteen years ago, she co-founded Hong Kong Refugee Advice Centre (now Justice Centre), an organisation that assists refugees and torture claimants. She has also worked at HELP, an NGO that assists domestic workers on cases involving employment, forced labour and human trafficking.

Dr. Sin Chi Lo is a researcher and community organiser interested in promoting the rights of women and ethnic minorities. Her research interests primarily lie in migration, citizenship, as well as social movements in everyday life and transnational contexts. She is the co-founder of “Translate for Her”, an NGO that facilitates equal access of information for ethnic minority women in Hong Kong and fosters cross-cultural community.

Enquiries:
dslab@lib.cuhk.edu.hk