Visual ethnography and refugee women: nuanced understandings of lived experiences

TLDR

Visual ethnography is an established qualitative method that enables nuanced exploration of sensitive themes and complex refugee narratives beyond what text alone can convey. The study seeks to strengthen the case for visual ethnography as a tool for promoting mental health. Participants assessed their progress by engaging in visual ethnographic activities that explored complex circumstances. For some refugee women, discussing photographs and making digital movies fostered achievement, pride, wellbeing, and ownership, whereas for others it proved burdensome.

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to reinforce the significance of visual ethnography as a tool for mental health promotion. Design/methodology/approach Visual ethnography has become an established methodology particularly in qualitative studies, to understand specific themes within participants’ everyday realities. Beyond providing a visual element, such methods allow for meaningful and nuanced explorations of sensitive themes, allowing richer sets of data to emerge rather than focussing on conversations alone. The participants in this study evaluated how far they had come by exploring complex circumstances using visual ethnographic means. Findings Research with single refugee women in Brisbane, Australia, demonstrates how discussing photographs and creating digital movies yielded a sense of achievement, pride and accomplishment, health and wellbeing, and ownership for some women, while for others it was a burden. Originality/value Studies with single refugee women have been scarce with limited use of visual ethnographic methods. Visual ethnography is particularly suited to understanding refugee narratives, as complex experiences are not always conveyed through textual representations alone.