A vicarious scar Secondary trauma and ethnographic care in fieldwork

• Published in: American ethnologist Vol. 52; no. 1; pp. 73 - 78
• Main Author: Routon, Erin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Arlington Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.02.2025
• Subjects: Detention; Ethnographers; Ethnography; Fieldwork; Legal advocacy; Trauma; Vicarious trauma

Difficult challenges are an unavoidable aspect of doing ethnographic fieldwork in sensitive spaces or on sensitive subjects. A less commonly discussed problem, however, is the impact that vicarious or secondary traumas can have on researchers. Here, I discuss my experience of secondary trauma in con...