Making consent meaningful: the ‘dance’ of seeking consent for an ethnography in the family court

Dennis, Sarah ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-1750-0220 (2025) Making consent meaningful: the ‘dance’ of seeking consent for an ethnography in the family court. Qualitative Research. ISSN 1468-7941

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Abstract

Inspired by the themes emerging from a contemporary dance video, this paper proposes a theoretical framework for seeking consent from prospective participants in an ethnographic study of child protection court cases (care proceedings) in the family court in England. Research evidence to date suggests that this is a formal environment that is often alienating and confusing for families. As a qualified social worker and researcher, I draw on my ongoing doctoral research to explore some of the challenges of negotiating participant consent in the highly emotive space of the courtroom, where life-changing decisions are made about families’ future lives and relationships. Here, I focus on how the process of seeking consent can remain ethical, meaningful and responsive under such unpredictable and pressurised conditions by creating a research space that resists coercion through the power of ‘no’. A core problematic is how participants can be encouraged to say ‘no’ to research when they may be feeling vulnerable and disempowered by family court processes and structures. The complexities and ethics of the dance video capture some of the tensions and synergies that co-exist in these researcher-researched relationships.