July 30th was the annual World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, as recognized by the United Nations. In recognition of this day, we published a blog post outlining our top considerations and lessons learned in developing evaluation strategies for – and with – survivors of trafficking in persons (TIP).
Our fourth and final #EvalTuesdayTip on working with vulnerable populations is the importance of using strong data protocols. Data collected from vulnerable populations must be closely protected for the safety and security of the individuals participating.
As part of a recent evaluation in South Africa, the Khulisa team worked closely with a group of TIP survivors. Although the survivors were paid contributors to the project, only three people working on the project knew the names of the survivors involved. Khulisa anonymized the survivors’ names in the finance system so the survivors could be paid without having their identities revealed. Also, the database had three levels of security so that no one could access the survivors’ information and personal stories, even by accident.
Khulisa always shares the data we collect with the survivors involved, so they can see how we’ve used the data and amend anything, give advice, or request changes before the (anonymous) findings are shared publicly.