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This essay brings together different voices to reflect on several participatory research projects carried out in Colombia, based on human rights, ‘empowerment’, harm reduction, (im)mobility and forced migration, gendered and political violence, armed conflict, and the right to health of people in the social margins. We look back on nine years of activism to explore the foundations of what our friendships and relationships have come to know as a revolutionary ethos. We critically re-visit and reflect on the concept of ‘the activist’ in the realms of the human rights apparatus in Colombia, the academy and the Non-Profit Industrial Complex (NPIC). We look back on what was forged and what was lost to propose the critical concept of ‘radical honesty and self-care’ as the basis for a revolution that supports processes of healing and social justice. Finally, we imagine what ‘healing’ can look like, as committed activists despite our differences and positionalities. We engage with and problematise the different forms of activism that emerge in social struggles and we address self-criticisms, constant reflection, radical honesty and uncomfortableness as powerful tools in joining forces to continue social justice work and caring.

Child poverty is a global concern which is usually not captured for monetary measures. Therefore, multidimensional approaches to measure child poverty have increased in the past decade. However, there is still no consensus about what constitutes multidimensional child poverty, how it should be measured, and which criteria should be adopted to identify poor children in a society. We discuss the opinions of experts in order to inform the methodological decision-making processes in multidimensional poverty measurement. We conducted thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 27 global experts on child poverty and poverty measurement. We contrasted the degree of agreement and reasons to include dimensions and indicators in a multidimensional child-poverty measure for low- and middle-income countries. We found agreement and disagreement about the inclusion of multiple dimensions and indicators. On the one hand, Education, Nutrition, Water and Sanitation, Access to Health Care, and Immunisation were the indicators with the highest levels of agreement. On the other hand, Safety, Child Labour, Access to Information, and Cultural Activities were the group of indicators producing less agreement between experts. We found that debates regarding decisions in the process of designing a multidimensional child-poverty measure were related to the theoretical perspectives on child poverty, the rationale of the indicators, the data available, and technical issues. In conclusion, methodological decisions about the selection of dimensions and indicators to measure multidimensional child poverty requires a critical reflection on the perspectives of poverty that the researchers use, the objective of the measure, the data available, and how deprivations can be operationalised.

Through qualitative data collected with women affected by drug use and drug-related violence in Bogota, this article explores the convergence of harm reduction rationales and violence prevention programming in the urban margins to advocate for women's health empowerment and health rights as victims of intergenerational trauma and violence. We propose a methodological shift of public health praxis from street-based outreach models to intimate spaces of intervention for health outcomes embodiment 1 as we continue to develop our community health model to work with marginalised communities in the urban global South. Through this work committed to social justice in marginalised urban communities, we seek to support women's health needs through harm reduction in historically marginalised communities in urban settings. Our results expose how multi-level gender-based violence affects women's health in their living spaces in the urban margins. Drawing from women's voices and narratives of urban violence, we call for a feminist alternative to traditionally masculinist and public-space oriented harm reduction practice for health empowerment in the urban margins.

Transgender women (“trans women”) are disproportionately impacted by HIV; yet there are few interventions tailored for trans women. This study employed qualitative methods to better understand how trans women's social networks and technology-based networking platforms may be leveraged in developing health promotion strategies for this high-priority population. Qualitative data from five focus groups (N = 39) revealed three key themes: (1) Social network structure and composition; (2) Technology use patterns; and (3) Accessing transgender health resources online. Participants used technology to establish affiliation with other trans women, build networks of support, and exchange health information and advice. Policymakers and practitioners can invest in the knowledge and expertise of trans women in using technology to organize health resources and support the development of peer-led, technology-based HIV prevention and care interventions.

I have learned much about the limits and transformative potential of the street, la calle, as a site of struggle from and with radical organizations fighting against state violence in the urban glo...

El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) access is increasing in Latin America. We explored PrEP use among Spanish-speaking, Hornet geosocial networking application users from Latin American countries with limited PrEP data via an online survey completed between December 2018 and February 2019. A total of 718 Hornet users from 10 countries were included, of whom 72.1% reported PrEP awareness. Few (5.6%) were currently taking PrEP, though 32.1% intended to take PrEP in the subsequent 6 months. PrEP awareness was lower in 18–25 year olds compared to 26+ (62.4% vs. 75.6%, aOR 0.67, [95% CI 0.46–0.97]), and higher among those living in larger versus smaller cities (74.4% vs. 58.8%, aOR 1.96, [95% CI 1.25–3.07]) or countries with at least partial versus no PrEP policy adoption (79.1% vs. 60.8%, aOR 2.20, [95% CI 1.56–3.12]). Intention to use PrEP was higher among PrEP-eligible respondents (51.8% vs. 29.6%, aOR 2.26, [95% CI 1.26–4.07]) and those recently tested for a sexually transmitted infection (35.4% vs. 25.5%, aOR 1.58, [95% CI 1.01–2.48]). Efforts to expand PrEP use in Latin America should focus on national PrEP policy adoption, and research should explore barriers to awareness and use among young men who have sex with men. National Institute of Mental Health Revisión por pares

The Health Equity Network of the Americas (HENA) is a multidisciplinary network that promotes knowledge sharing and intersectoral action for equity in health and human rights in the Americas. The objectives of HENA are: 1) to share successful experiences in the development of interventions, considering the social determinants and determination of health, to achieve participatory and community-based health responses; 2) to analyze the health, social, political, environmental and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic; 3) to identify the effects of pandemic care on populations most at risk because of their age and pre-existing health conditions; 4) examine the situation at borders and population movements in the spread of the pandemic and its effects on migrant populations; 5) propose strategies to ensure access to comprehensive care for pregnant women in order to reduce maternal and neonatal suffering, morbidity, and mortality; and 6) analyze violations of human rights and the right to health of historically marginalized populations, including street dwellers and other communities that depend on public spaces and the street for survival. The analytical and intervention models for health equity at HENA are based on various approaches, including social medicine, social epidemiology, medical anthropology, human ecology, and One health. La Red de las Américas para la Equidad en Salud (RAES) es una red multidisciplinaria que promueve el intercambio de conocimientos y la acción intersectorial para la equidad en salud y los derechos humanos en las Américas. Los objetivos de la RAES consisten en: 1) compartir experiencias exitosas en el desarrollo de intervenciones, considerando la determinación y los determinantes sociales, para lograr respuestas participativas y comunitarias en salud; 2) analizar los impactos sanitarios, sociales, políticos, ambientales y económicos de la pandemia de COVID-19; 3) identificar los efectos de la atención de la pandemia en las poblaciones de mayor riesgo por su edad y las condiciones de salud preexistentes; 4) examinar la situación de las fronteras y de los movimientos de población en la propagación de la pandemia y de sus efectos en las poblaciones migrantes; 5) proponer estrategias para asegurar el acceso a la atención integral de las mujeres gestantes, con el fin de reducir el sufrimiento, la morbilidad y la mortalidad materna y neonatal; y 6) analizar vulneraciones de derechos humanos y del derecho a la salud de poblaciones históricamente marginalizadas, incluyendo habitantes en situación de calle y otras comunidades que dependen de los espacios públicos y de la calle para sobrevivir. Los modelos analíticos y de intervención para la equidad en salud de la RAES se desarrollan desde varios enfoques, como la medicina social, la epidemiologia social, la antropología médica, la ecología humana y el de Una salud.

Despite increased recognition of the importance of measuring child poverty from a multidimensional perspective, most countries with National Multidimensional Poverty Indices (MPIs) have used the household as the unit of identification and used the results of national MPIs to define the levels of child poverty in a country. This assumes that resources are shared equally among all household members, and ignores possible intra-household inequalities. Given the lack of knowledge about whether Household MPIs properly identify children who are multidimensionally poor, this article aims to compare the results of a child-specific MPI exercise and a household-specific MPI exercise and identify the dimensions and individual characteristics that explain this gap. To fulfil this objective, we computed a Child MPI for Colombia and compared the results with the Colombian National MPI. In addition, we estimated probit and biprobit models to identify the determinants of being a multidimensionally poor child under both measures. The results of the analysis reveal three main findings: (1) there is a mismatch between the two measures; (2) the deprivation profiles of multidimensionally poor children are different depending on which MPI is used to classify them as poor; and (3) children who are multidimensionally poor according to a Child MPI have different individual and family characteristics compared with children who are classified as poor according to a Household MPI. These three main findings reveal that it is necessary to analyse child poverty using an MPI that captures individual deprivations.

In this chapter, we qualitatively investigate the violent conditions in a juvenile detention center in Bogota, Colombia. This chapter focuses on the experiences of nine system-affected youth living in confinement and highlights the inconsistencies between everyday institutional practice and the legal framework designed to protect this population. In our concluding thoughts, we call for a human rights training program for all state officials working in Specialized Care Centers in Colombia.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has limited availability across Latin America, though access is increasing. We explored PrEP uptake in Mexico via an online survey completed by Spanish-speaking, Hornet geosocial networking application (GSN app) users without HIV (n = 2020). Most (81.3%) had heard of PrEP, 3.5% were current users, and 34.2% intended to take PrEP within six months. Current PrEP use was associated with PrEP eligibility (aOR 26.07 [95%CI 13.05-52.09], p0.001), recent STI testing (aOR 3.79 [95%CI 1.10-13.11], p = 0.035), and recent chemsex (aOR 3.02 [95%CI 1.02-8.93], p = 0.046). Recent STI testing was associated with hearing about PrEP from a doctor (aOR 3.26 [95%CI 1.98-5.36], p0.001), and those who lived in large cities were less likely to have learned about PrEP via Hornet (aOR 0.52 [95%CI 0.32-0.85], p = 0.009). Interventions to increase PrEP uptake in Mexico should build upon existing health networks and utilize GSN apps for PrEP information dissemination, particularly in less populated areas.La profilaxis pre-exposición (PrEP) tiene disponibilidad limitada en América Latina, aunque su acceso está aumentando. Exploramos el uso de PrEP en México a través de una encuesta en línea para sujetos hispanohablantes sin VIH usuarios de la aplicación de redes geosociales (GSN app) Hornet (n=2020). La mayoría (81,3%) había escuchado sobre PrEP, el 3,5% eran usuarios actuales, y el 34,2% tenían intención de tomar PrEP en seis meses o menos. El uso actual de PrEP estuvo asociado con la elegibilidad de tomar PrEP (aOR 26.07 [95%CI 13.05–52.09], p0.001), tener prueba reciente para ITS (aOR 3.79 [95%CI 1.10–13.11], p = 0.035), y chemsex reciente (aOR 3.02 [95%CI 1.02–8.93], p = 0.046). Tener prueba reciente para ITS se asoció con escuchar sobre PrEP de un médico (aOR 3.26 [95%CI 1.98–5.36], p0.001), y quienes vivían en ciudades grandes tenían menos probabilidad de conocer acerca de PrEP a través de Hornet (aOR 0.52 [95%CI 0.32–0.85], p = 0.009). Las intervenciones para aumentar el uso de PrEP en México deberían basarse en redes de salud existentes y usar las GSN apps para difundir información sobre PrEP, particularmente en áreas menos pobladas.

Through qualitative data collected with women affected by drug use and drug-related violence in Bogotá, this article explores the convergence of harm reduction rationales and violence prevention programming in the urban margins to advocate for women's health empowerment and health rights as victims of intergenerational trauma and violence. We propose a methodological shift of public health praxis from street-based outreach models to intimate spaces of intervention for health outcomes embodiment

Drawing from qualitative research conducted in a participatory action research framework with 28 transgender women in Colombia, this paper presents the stigma-related barriers to healthcare experienced by trans women and their experiences of multi-level violence within the healthcare system. The authors also discuss how advocacy work was conducted as part of the research process and how trans community leaders were involved throughout the project in order to promote policy-relevance and community-based implementation of findings. The paper concludes with a discussion of how the experiences of violence and stigmatisation within the health care system is linked to broader processes of structural stigma reproduced within Colombian society.

Ugandan households play a central role in child care and protection, and household-level practices influence the ways in which children are protected from adversities. This study was designed to identify community perceptions of protective and harmful parenting practices in three districts in Uganda. It employed free-listing interviews to determine priorities and practices deemed to be important in providing care and protection to children. Findings suggest that parenting practices can be grouped into seven basic themes, which are: Investing in children's future, Protection, Care, Enterprising, Relationship with neighbors, Intimate partner relationship, and Child Rearing. Investing in children's future, including educating children, was cited most often as a hallmark of positive parenting; while failure to care for children was most often cited as a hallmark of negative parenting. Concrete behaviors, such as walking a daughter to school; sewing a son's torn pants before going to church; and structuring study time at home were identified as concrete actions Ugandan parents undertake daily to promote their children's well-being. Conversely, specific contextual aspects of neglect and abuse were identified as central components of negative parenting, including lack of investment in children's education and not serving as a good role model. Building on community strengths is recommended as a principal means of enhancing household resilience and reducing childhood risk.

Background Research examining the interrelated drivers of household violence against women and violence against children is nascent, particularly in humanitarian settings. Gaps remain in understanding how relocation, displacement and ongoing insecurity affect families and may exacerbate household violence. Methods Employing purposive sampling, we used photo elicitation methods to facilitate semi-structured, in-depth interviews with female and male adolescents and adults aged 13–75 (n = 73) in two districts in Colombia from May to August of 2017. Participants were displaced and/or residing in neighborhoods characterized by high levels of insecurity from armed groups. Results Using inductive thematic analysis and situating the analysis within a feminist socioecological framework, we found several shared drivers of household violence. Intersections among drivers at all socioecological levels occurred among societal gender norms, substance use, attempts to regulate women’s and children’s behavior with violence, and daily stressors associated with numerous community problems. A central theme of relocation was of family compositions that were in continual flux and of family members confronted by economic insecurity and increased access to substances. Conclusions Findings suggest interventions that systemically consider families’ struggles with relocation and violence with multifaceted attention to socioecological intersections.

This paper presents the participatory visual research design and findings from a qualitative assessment of the social impact of bazuco and inhalant/glue consumption among street youth in Bogotá, Colombia. The paper presents the visual methodologies our participatory action research (PAR) team employed in order to identify and overcome the stigmas and discrimination that street youth experience in society and within state-sponsored drug rehabilitation programmes. I call for critical reflection regarding the broad application of the terms 'participation' and 'participatory' in visual research and urge scholars and public health practitioners to consider the transformative potential of PAR for both the research and practice of global public health in general and rehabilitation programmes for street-based substance abuse in Colombia in particular. The paper concludes with recommendations as to how participatory visual methods can be used to promote social inclusion practices and to work against stigma and discrimination in health-related research and within health institutions.

Drawing from geo-ethnographic data collected during a participatory action research (PAR) project funded by the National Science Foundation and subsequent research conducted in Colombia with margin...

Background: Violence against children (VAC) in Uganda is recognized as an urgent dilemma; however, most research has been quantitatively oriented and has seldom involved children in the research process. Objective: We discuss what we learned about child participation in the research process as a means of informing ethical praxis in future child- and youth-led research initiatives. As an overarching aim of this paper, we utilize our engagement with YPAR as a springboard to reflect on methodological best practices for VAC research that involve children themselves as part of a movement to democratize the research process. Participants and Setting: The study includes street-connected children (40), sexually exploited children (19) and domestic workers (34) in Kampala. Methods: The YPAR team led participant observation, 52 semi-structured life history interviews, 31 auto-photographic exercises, and 4 focus groups. All data collection, analysis and dissemination activities were led by the YPAR team including four Ugandan street-connected youth between the ages of 16–25 and two Ugandan university-trained youth researchers. Results: The results are framed as a methodological reflection regarding the complexities and transformative potential of including children as researchers in the framework of YPAR. Conclusions: We urge scholars to create spaces for sustainable YPAR movements, both in academic and policy arenas, and to design participatory initiatives that prioritize knowledge produced by and for the improvement of children’s lives globally. We encourage challenging traditional, extractive research practices through participatory approaches that carve out spaces for child participation in research.

This study presents the design and development of a multidimensional child poverty index in Colombia that can be used for assessment and policy design. Using a mixed-method design that combines quantitative and qualitative research methods, we developed a multidimensional measure of child poverty. Based on these results as well as empirical evidence on deprivations that are determinant for human development, we constructed a Multidimensional Child and Adolescent Poverty Index (MCAP). We used nationally representative household survey data to estimate the MCAP for 2008, 2010 and 2011 in order to measure changes over time. We found that overall, 34 % of children and adolescents in Colombia are living in poverty. This represents a 10 percentage-point reduction in comparison with 2008. As per the critical dimensions, we found that for all age groups lack of access to potable water, overcrowding and lack of access to parks or green areas contribute the most to child poverty. In addition, for children under five and adolescents, lack of access to education is a critical area and for children and adolescents, lack of access to recreational or time use services contribute significantly to poverty. We show how the MCAP can be used as a policy design tool for child poverty reduction that is sensitive to the needs of children from different age groups and regions through the design of benefit packages. Both the mixed-method research design and study findings are expected to have a significant impact across sectors including both academic national and international policy circles.

This paper uses a natural experiment to identify the impact of a judicial system reform on police behavior. The study finds that, after a decrease in the severity of judicial punishment imposed on Colombian adolescents, arrest rates for adolescents in most misdemeanor crimes decreased due to a change in police behavior. The magnitude of this effect ranged between 0.08 to 0.321 standard deviations. The uncertainty on how to operate the new system, the lack of training, and the potential disciplinary sanctions led police officials to reduce arrest rates. Nonetheless, police forces learned gradually how to operate within the new system and adjusted their operations, countervailing the initial negative impact on arrest rates. We present suggestive evidence that the reduction in arrest rates and the lower sanctions increased crime incidents in cities with a large proportion of adolescents in their population. Qualitative evidence collected in focus groups with police officials supports the principal quantitative findings and contextualize the obstacles that led to the decrease in arrest rates and the perceived increase of juvenile crime based on the officials’ experiences in the streets.

Spanish Abstract: En Colombia, para el 2014 aproximadamente el 49,57 % de graduados de la educacion media ingreso directamente al mercado laboral. En un pais en el que la educacion terciaria no esta en capacidad de absorber a la mayoria de graduados de la educacion media, es fundamental preguntarse sobre la forma como los empresarios perciben la educacion secundaria. Para responder a esta inquietud, a partir de una metodologia cualitativa con enfoque participativo (encuestas a representantes del sector empresarial y de instituciones de educacion media y terciaria), se priorizaron las necesidades actuales de la educacion media de acuerdo con los requerimientos del sector empresarial y se compararon estas necesidades con las percepciones de las instituciones educativas de educacion media y terciaria. Este componente se pregunta por: la vision de las empresas sobre la educacion media; la percepcion del empresariado sobre los trabajadores cuyo ultimo nivel educativo es la educacion media; y cuales competencias deben tener este tipo de trabajadores y cuales falta desarrollar en la educacion media. Los resultados del componente sugieren que tanto el sector empresarial como el educativo perciben que, en terminos generales, la formacion academica de los estudiantes es la apropiada, aunque presenta altos deficits en el desarrollo de habilidades socioemocionales, situacion que les dificulta a los egresados asumir los retos que les presentan tanto la educacion terciaria como el ambiente laboral. Por otra parte, aunque tanto el empresariado como el sector educativo consideran que la funcion de la educacion media es formar a los estudiantes para que participen activamente en la sociedad, el empresariado la concibe mas como una instancia de preparacion para la vida laboral, mientras que el sector educativo la entiende ante todo como una etapa de preparacion para la vida academica y adulta. Por ende, resulta pertinente generar e implementar un proceso que le permita a la educacion media proveer una formacion tanto para la academia como para el trabajo, de manera que esta sea satisfactoria para cualquiera de las opciones de vida que tome el egresado. Asimismo, es fundamental que las instituciones educativas se articulen con el empresariado local y regional de modo que el sector educativo pueda responder a las necesidades e intereses regionales y se garantice la insercion efectiva de los estudiantes en el mercado laboral y en la cotidianidad de sus regiones. English Abstract: In 2014, approximately 49.57% of the graduates of secondary education in Colombia went directly into the labor market. In a country where the higher education system is unable to absorb most of the graduates of secondary education it is crucial to inquire about the opinion of businessmen of the secondary education. To address this issue, the authors took a qualitative approach through participatory surveys to representatives of the enterprises, and the secondary and tertiary education sector. From this approach they prioritized the actual needs of the secondary education according to the enterprises and compared them with the perceptions of the secondary and higher education institutions on the matter. This component deals with: the vision of the enterprises on secondary education; the perceptions of businessmen on workers whose last education achievement was secondary education; and which skills should have this kind of workers and which of them are still lacking to be addressed on the actual secondary education system. In general, terms, the results of the component show that: both the enterprises and the education institutions perceive that the graduates of secondary education receive the adequate academic skills, but they lack formation on socio-emotional skills in high levels. That lacking of skills makes it harder for the graduates to overcome the challenges that present the integration into the higher education and the work environment. Moreover, even when both the enterprises and the education sector acknowledge that the secondary education is central in the education for the active participation of the students in the society, the enterprises prefer to see it as the preparation for the working life, while the education sector perceives secondary education as the preparation for adulthood and academic life. Therefore, it is necessary to generate and implement a process that allows secondary education to provide the skills for the labor market as well as the academic life and adulthood. Additionally, it is fundamental to articulate the educational institutions with the local and regional private sector to address the local needs for skills and guarantee the successful insertion of the graduates of secondary education into the local labor market.

Based on youth participatory action research with Colombian street girls, I illustrate discrepancies between human subjects protection guidelines and practice in youth research, providing guidance for operationalizing federal Office of Human Research Protection regulations in geographic research. I problematize taken-for-granted human subjects definitions including childhood, vulnerability, protection, and consent, all of which rely on context-specific assumptions that do not hold across all places and circumstances. Through the enactment of a care ethics practice in fieldwork, I suggest that geographers can move toward more truly critical research praxis by making socially responsible action in the field the driving force of “subject” protection.

Spanish Abstract: La explotacion sexual, la trata de personas y el “turismo sexual” son fenomenos que continuan aumentando y que afectan especialmente a ninas, ninos, adolescentes y jovenes. A pesar de la amplia legislacion que existe al respecto, tanto a nivel nacional como internacional, en la practica su implementacion se ha demostrado inefectiva. El presente estudio geoetnografico parte de la metodologia de Investigacion Accion Participativa (IAP) para trabajar con comunidades afectadas en Bogota de manera horizontal y plantear nuevas perspectivas y recomendaciones de politica. El ejercicio visibiliza la amplitud del fenomeno de trata a nivel interno nacional y la diversidad de tipos de explotacion y victimizacion mas alla de los descritos por la ley. Se recomienda el diseno de una politica publica integral que busque implementar las normas existentes a la luz de las voces y testimonios de las comunidades afectadas. English Abstract: Sexual exploitation, human trafficking and sex tourism are continuously growing and especially affect children, adolescents and young people. Despite the existing legislation, both nationally (in Colombia) and internationally, it has been proven that implementation protocols are ineffective. This study was conducted within a Participatory Action Research (PAR or IAP for its Spanish acronym) frame in order to work horizontally with affected communities in Bogota and offer new perspectives and public policy recommendations. The study discusses the diversity of types of exploitation and victimization outside of those described by the law. Recommendations include the construction of integral public policies to implement existing norms with the guidance of the voices and testimonies of the affected communities.