‘Our Rights, Our Communities’ peer research project
This work is a partnership project between GCPH, Govanhill Baths Community Action Programme, Unity Sisters and Milk Café. It evaluates the ‘Our Rights, Our Communities’ project using peer research methods.
The ‘Our Rights, Our Communities’ Project aimed to deliver a unique model of community-based, New Scots Women-led advocacy over 2021 and 2022. As part of this project, asylum seekers, refugee and migrant women suffering discrimination undertook training in advocacy, with a view to developing a local, New Scots Women-led peer support network. This network will supply ethical, culturally appropriate and sustained advocacy to New Scots women and their communities.
In evaluating this work, we wanted to echo its principles and ethos. The ‘Our Rights, Our Communities’ project puts the needs of New Scots Women at the heart and head of the struggle for equality. The women themselves are at the forefront in delivering anti-racist and equality work, rather than having equality done for them. This evaluation therefore was conducted as a peer research project.
Peer research is a methodology that puts those with lived experience of the subject being researched in control of the research. In this project, a group of six New Scots Women involved in the ‘Our Rights, Our Communities’ project undertook the evaluation, under the mentorship of a researcher from GCPH.
This group collectively decided on their research questions and methods, as well as conducting the data collection and analysis. They authored the final research report and created other outputs to disseminate the findings of the work to other New Scots Women and their wider communities.
This research began in late 2021 and will finish in early 2023.
See here for the poster they designed detailing key findings from this research.
Download the 'Knowledge is Power' report here
Watch a short animation created by the peer research team, with support from a GCPH researcher, to share their findings with others in their community.
Different language versions of the animation are available below. These were created and recorded by the peer researchers for use in their communities.
Kinyarwanda: This voiceover was recorded by Epiphanie, originally from Rwanda
Urdu (اردو): This voiceover was recorded by Syeda, originally from Karachi
Spanish (Español): This voiceover was recorded by Lill Casas, originally from Venezuela
French (Français): This voiceover was recorded by Gislaine, originally from Congo
Arabic (اللغة العربية) This voiceover was recorded by Weam, originally from Iraq
English: This voiceover was recorded by Lydia, originally from Africa
Watch the short documentary 'It Will Start With Me' showcasing the peer-led research journey of the 'Knowledge is Power' project.
University of Glasgow student internship
As part of this work, Govanhill Baths have provided a number of student internships through the University of Glasgow. Lily Owens-Crossman undertook an internship to support the peer researcher group with logistics and administration, alongside conducting her Masters Dissertation research on the benefits and challenges of peer research: 'A Critical Evaluation of Peer Research Methodology from the Perspectives of Refugee and Migrant Women Peer Researchers'. A short summary of her research findings can be found here.
CoPro Week 2022
A series of blogs were produced for CoPro Week 2022 about the 'Our Rights, Our Communities' project with different perspectives from the people involved in the project. Access them here:
Blog 1, Lydia – ‘Our Rights, Our Communities: Knowledge is power’
Blog 2, Lisa – ‘Our Rights, Our Communities: Co-production in practice’
Blog 3, Lily – ‘Our Rights, Our Communities: the benefits of community-based research’
Blog 4, Group – ‘Our Rights, Our Communities: the empowerment of being a peer-researcher’