Voice, Counterspaces, and Ethical Care in Research With Black Women With Trauma and Incarceration Histories

Formerly incarcerated women face diverse challenges to re-entry, which include recovering from health illnesses and trauma to navigating various systems of stigma and surveillance. It is these multilevel challenges to reintegration that also make formerly incarcerated women vulnerable participants in research. As such, this qualitative study explores how 28 formerly incarcerated Black women experience the research interview process. Findings revealed that women participated in research because these contexts were viewed as spaces for "truth telling" and increasing awareness that can effect changes in the lives of communities facing trauma. Moreover, the participants perceived the interview process to allow them to share their pasts in ways that can promote healing and recovery. Participants also discussed risks of emotional distress and anticipatory fears regarding imbalanced researcher-participant dynamics. The implications for antioppressive, compassionate interviewing practices underscore the need for greater considerations of the role of the researcher and how they contribute to women's recovery from complex trauma and illness.