The Power of Talk: Transformative Possibilities in Researching Violence with Children in South Africa

摘要

This article considers the possibilities for change through participation in research. Reflecting on findings from a study of South African young people's perspectives about violence, it explores how research may have consequences—both planned and unintended—for its participants. For example, in the course of this study, verbal problem solving and collaboration increasingly replaced systems of punishment as children's preferred solutions to problems of violence. The article considers how elements of the research process and, in particular, the subtle interplay of power and pleasure, generated shifts in perspectives. It reflects on the ethical implications for participatory research with children, including the tension between empowerment within and marginalisation outside the research space, and discusses the implications for researchers in general and for interventions which seek to work with young people to contest violence.