Engendering justice? A feminist exploration of the relationship between trafficked persons and the Criminal Justice System

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This project proposes using a combination of Joe Norris' Playbuilding and Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed techniques, as a highly innovative methodological approach in socio-legal research, to foreground trafficking survivors' narratives and disseminate these to criminal justice professionals, bringing about individual and systemic change. In doing so, it aims to generate: knowledge of the role gender plays for trafficked persons attempting to access justice; improved access to and participation in research for marginalised groups; and an understanding of the effect that this can have on the policy landscape moving forwards, providing both the research evidence and insight into attitudinal and cultural drivers to lead policy change. By using the aforementioned arts-based methods, societal relationships/understandings (e.g., those between trafficked persons and criminal justice practitioners) can be transformed and revolutionized (Shank and Schirch, 2008). This 'sociocultural empowerment' (van Erven, 2001), which applied theatre practice enables, develops social inclusiveness and builds self-confidence (Beddow, 2001), whilst uncovering societal injustices (Cohen-Cruz, 2006). Most importantly, as Bell (1994) notes, 'performance is one of the most effective means for those who have been constructed by others as objects [...] to enter into discourse and create an immediate subject position.' The project will use applied theatre techniques to facilitate the performative telling of participants' stories in a safe space, with a community who have a unique shared understanding. The group exercises will assist the identification and analysis by both the participants and the researcher of experiential and internalised oppression, by exploring memories and emotions whilst developing the physical senses. Workshops will be followed by semi-structured interviews and/or focus groups (as appropriate) to gain further insight into specific issues identified. As well as providing insight and evidence into the drivers required for effective and positive policy change, the project aims to provide a roadmap for the future use of applied theatre as a practical and emancipatory socio-legal research methodology.