Engendering justice: a dramatic research method for co-producing socio-legal knowledge with marginalised participants

Abstract

Gendered power structures and opposing feminist philosophies have led to an impasse where trafficking experts by experience are not adequately assisted to access justice or support through the criminal justice system. This has resulted in the need to creatively develop existing research methodologies to better serve such marginalised communities. Before such methods can be appropriately used with the originally envisaged participants, it was necessary to establish the novel approach in this field as theoretically and practically effective, ethical, and feasible for sociolegal research topics. This thesis develops the concept that participatory applied drama approaches can provide an alternative and beneficial method for engaging in qualitative sociolegal study involving marginalised, vulnerable and/or hard to reach populations. A practical protocol of drama-based research exercises exploring experiences and perceptions of justice and injustice, and how these are attained in society, has been developed, based on the foundational work and theorisation of practitioner Augusto Boal, whose Theatre of the Oppressed methods have previously been adapted for research in non-sociolegal fields. The protocol research method has been piloted with injustice-experienced drama practitioner participants, whose co-produced findings are presented as evidence of the method’s efficacy, alongside a detailed and critical analysis and evaluation of its ethicality, feasibility, and potential beneficial outcomes. It is found to produce rich qualitative data on topics shaped by participants, as well as engendering positive transferable skills and, in some, experiences of justice. An original contribution to knowledge is provided by setting out the new methodology, and revealing both its potential and flaws in detail, providing a guide for research contexts when it could prove appropriate and complementary to more conventional methods.

Date of Award	Jun 2026
Original language	English
Supervisor	Mark Simpson (Supervisor) & Grainne McKeever (Supervisor)