Social determinants of health in countries in conflict - What is GIS ...

16 Social determinants of health in countries in conflict
approach, but one looking at the societal responses, rather than those of the individual
[20,21,22].
Civil society viewpoints are even more difficult to evaluate. They come from the
grass-roots level, and are mediated by organizations and individuals sympathetic to these
views. Thus, they often present alternative perspectives to those in mainstream media.
The validity of these accounts is accepted as having been seriously and conscientiously
collected and reviewed, under difficult conditions.
Ethical issues involved in collecting information in conflict must first and foremost
consider the safety of researchers, those who respond to their enquiries, and other
survivors. These issues pose a special challenge when documenting sexual violence,
where police and military who are assigned to protect women could be the major
perpetrators of sexual violence [23,24].
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The authors have tried to face problems posed by the evidence by:
declaring their interests, in terms of the rights of all people to health and respect
regardless of religion, ethnicity and gender;
acknowledging the right of people to speak for themselves, and to be listened to:
hence, the concern for the views of civil society organizations;
identifying all information sources when this does not put the lives of informants
at risk;
being especially rigorous in the assessment of validity and reliability.
SDH-chapters-countries in conflict-7 Oct.indd 16 08/10/2008 14:24:49