Skip to main content
STI & HIV 2023 World Congress Main banner
Final Program


Icon Legend
Back

Policy & Community Engagement

Category: Key populations

(P184) Incongruence and Tensions between Theory and Practice in Community-Based Participatory Research: Lessons Learned from Researching with Sex Workers in Singapore

Tuesday, July 25, 2023
16:00 – 18:00 CST
Project

This paper reflects on the community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches used in a qualitative research project among sex workers in Singapore. The study involved 5 focus groups discussions and 53 semi-structured interviews, the latter conducted primarily by 3 community interviewers. The project was conducted in partnership with the local sex workers’ rights group, Project X.



Issue

Literature on CBPR tends to reify a simplistic tension between the academic researchers and community participants. While navigating the internal power dynamics of a community is often mentioned as a limitation, it is the academia-community tension that draws most focus. Formal models recommended, like Community Advisory Boards, may not account for the diverse motivations and schedules of community members resulting in a bias in which and how community members are able to participate.



Results

Recruitment of community interviewers tended to alienate certain segments of the industry. The 3 members were all under 25 years old, Singaporean, fluent in English, attended higher education and worked as online-based freelancers. There was a steep learning curve in conducting interviews, as the interview guides were developed by the academics and covered topics beyond the members’ own experiences. This required us to modify the roles and training throughout the project, as we could not take for granted that community members were necessarily ‘cultural’ experts across this diverse group. It became clear that the sex work industry tends to attract individuals seeking flexibility and independence, such that the long-term, formal investment in a research project (e.g. minimum four-month commitment, conducting interviews weekly) is almost antithetical to the needs and interests of most sex workers.



Lessons Learned

The constant and processual nature of power negotiation in practice suggests an incongruence between the ideals of CBPR and the strict, formal models often promoted. Observing the tensions within complex internal dynamics, and the positive outcomes of adaptive research, this paper calls for a re-imagination of research processes untied to institutional structures, to accommodate the flexible needs and interests of a wider range of community members. We believe that CBPR has immense potential and allowing for flexibility will be integral in promoting CBPR in the sex work community.