Health social research in a context of violence: a look from the ethics

Abstract

During the 2006-2012 six-year presidential term, a battle against drug trafficking began, which has been continued by the current president and it still occupies one of the first positions on the political agenda of Mexico. This battle has mobilized the national security forces and its consequences have gone through the political sphere and reached society as a whole. This is just one of the scenarios faced by the country; historical community conflicts and an atmosphere of generalized violence fueled by kidnappings, homicides, and various kinds of crimes accompany it. This essay thinks through how social research, namely the fieldwork phase, has also been affected by this context. The paper shows some obstacles that people working in the field (researchers, students, interviewers, and pollsters) have to face. It examines how this context is affecting the social research carried out, seriously compromising the results, and thinks over the research ethics, pointing out the lack of protective measures for the personnel participating in this kind of studies.