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The University of Southampton
Social Statistics and DemographyPart of Economic, Social & Political Science

The Role of Women in Inland Fisheries: A Photo-Voice Assessment Seminar

Time:
15:00
Date:
8 May 2015
Venue:
02a/2077

For more information regarding this seminar, please telephone Dr Agnese Vitali on +44 (0)23 80 592935 or email A.Vitali@soton.ac.uk .

Event details

Social Statistics and Demography PGR seminar

Abstract:

This talk provides an overview of one methodology which will be carried out as part of the PhD project ‘Sustainable livelihoods: the value of aquaculture in Malawi to improve food and nutritional security’.

Gender plays a central role in the different ways by which inland fisheries contribute to food and nutritional security in developing countries. The role of women in inland fisheries is significant with millions participating in various activities along dynamic capture fisheries and aquaculture supply chains. The role of women in inland fisheries, however, is less visible than those of men and has often been overlooked in development discourse. The need for participatory community based approaches has been widely recognized in natural resource management discourse as a means to capture people’s perspectives and empower marginalized groups. The Photo-Voice methodology is increasingly being used as a participatory tool in health, social and environmental research but has had little adoption in inland fisheries to date. As part of two wider studies, a modified Photo-Voice methodology has been developed to open a dialogue with women involved in both capture fisheries and aquaculture in Malawi. Through the lens of women, a snapshot of their activities as well as the importance of the sector to their livelihoods will be documented. The aims of this paper are: (1) to present a modified Photo-Voice methodology applicable to small scale fisheries communities based on a review of the literature; and (2) to present details of two case study assessments which will be carried out in Malawi in July 2015. In combination with traditional social methods, the Photo-Voice methodology will provide a novel approach to raising the visibility of the role of neglected women in small scale fisheries and to mitigate gender blindness in existing management and policy discourses.

Speaker information

Alison Simmance,Postgraduate research student

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