Images of Place: Visuals from Migrant Women Sex Workers in South Africa
Oliveira, E.; Vearey, J.
Medical anthropology 34(4): 305-318
2015
ISSN/ISBN: 1545-5882 PMID: 25849062 DOI: 10.1080/01459740.2015.1036263
Accession: 058046460
Many migrants in inner-city Johannesburg survive through unconventional and sometimes criminalized livelihood activities. In this article, we draw on data from a study that applied a participatory visual methodology to work with migrant women who sell sex, and explored the suitability of this approach as a way to engage with a presumed 'hard to reach' urban population. The lived experiences of migrant women sex workers were documented by combining participatory visual methods with a more traditional ethnographic approach, and this approach led us to new ways of seeing their worlds. This methodological approach raises important considerations for working with marginalized and criminalized urban groups.