Kavya's PhD research is an ethnographic study exploring women's experiences with punishment and care in a women's centre in England.

Introduction

From September 2021 to June 2022, I completed my doctoral fieldwork in a women's centre in England. I had planned to conduct an ethnographic study, relying on participant observations to make sense of the social world in the Breddon Centre. Employing my methodology in practice, however, led to ethical negotiations that reshaped my experience in the Centre. This will be the subject of this chapter. I will reflect on my co-location as researcher and colleague in the Breddon Centre and describe how this unique positionality led a number of ethical tensions and dilemmas. While my commitment to reflexivity may not have resolved these dynamics, it helped me consider the boundaries of my involvement in the organisation, and just how far I would go to understand the Breddon Centre and its inhabitants.

It was late afternoon at the Breddon Centre. I was sitting in the office writing down some of my observations when Abi walked in. ‘Hey Kavya. Do you want to come visit a client with me?’ I nodded. ‘Sure,’ I said, gathering my belongings and walking with her to the car park, where we got into Abi's car to visit a 24-year-old client named Thea at her home. Thea met us at the door, her face leached of colour. Her eyes were red. She looked like she had been crying all day. ‘Hi darling,’ Abi said, reaching out to touch her shoulder.