Invisible in plain sight: A reflection on the potential and perils of an action research study of “positive deviants”

Abstract

“Unearthing local forms of child protection: Positive deviance and abduction in Ethiopia” offers a candid reflection on the learning journey begun with women from Ethiopia’s SNNP region, to understand and prevent the forcible abduction and marriage of young girls in their community. Deploying positive deviance within an action research approach, the paper challenges development discourses and practices where “technical experts” define, diagnose and (mis)direct the lives of people living in the global South. Remaining as a challenge to practitioners and young girls is that deviation can easily be shut down once rendered legible to dominant interests, and that solutions that work locally may sidestep and legitimize a problem’s systemic causes.