Young Mothers as Peer Researchers in a Collaborative Study

in Girlhood Studies
Author:
Annah Kamusiime International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University, Rotterdam kamusiime@iss.nl

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https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5515-4566
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3167/ghs.2023.160104
Keywords:
knowledge co-creation; sexual abuse; sexual debut; Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHRs); polyphony; proverbs; youth-peer researchers (YPRs)
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Abstract

In this article, I draw on experiences of a collaborative ethnographic study conducted with young mothers as peer researchers in a poor urban locale in Kampala-Uganda. Young motherhood has been researched on and about, but not often with women who live the reality of early reproduction. They are frequently left out of the research process as knowledge co-creators and co-interpreters irrespective of the consensus that girls’ and women's agency and voice must be acknowledged. I weave together a collaborative approach with polyphony to reveal innovative ways of knowledge co-creation. I call for centering young mothers as people with a specific embodied experience in order to include their perspectives in research, empower them to tell their stories, and question and challenge the dominant discourses.

Contributor Notes

Annah Kamusiime (ORCID: 0000-0001-5515-4566) is a PhD researcher at the International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University, Rotterdam. Her research and practice are in the fields of gender and adolescent and youth sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Annah has over 15 years’ experience of university teaching as well as social development programming and implementation, strategic management, interagency coordination, and SRHR policy advocacy. Email: kamusiime@iss.nl

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Girlhood Studies

An Interdisciplinary Journal

Cover Girlhood Studies
Article Category:
Research Article
Page Count:
17
Keywords:
knowledge co-creation; sexual abuse; sexual debut; Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHRs); polyphony; proverbs; youth-peer researchers (YPRs)
Print Publication Date:
01 Mar 2023
Online Publication Date:
01 Mar 2023
Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2023

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