Research With, Not On: Navigating Ethics in Law and Diversity Research
Abstract
This presentation examines what it means to conduct Research With, Not On research participants within Law and Diversity research. Working with groups historically marginalised by law, policy, and within academia requires ethical approaches that move beyond the traditional research-ethics checklists. Existing frameworks often fail to address structural inequality, power imbalances, epistemic hierarchies, and extractivist research practices. Drawing on two ongoing projects, 1) my PhD research on the construction of masculinity in EU border externalisation, and 2) a Participatory / Participant Driven Action Research project on Safe Reporting mechanisms for undocumented sex workers in collaboration with Utsopi, the presentation explores how positionality, epistemic justice, participatory methodologies, and humility strengthen research. Participatory arts-based research, community-led agenda setting, and continuous dialogue illustrate how experiential knowledge can be recognised as expertise and centred throughout the research process. The presentation concludes by outlining five commitments: humility, epistemic justice, positionality, reflexive ethics, and responsibility beyond academia, as essential pillars for genuinely collaborative and accountable research practices.