The personal, academic and political dimensions of researching domestic violence: an autoethnographic exploration

Research on domestic and gender-based violence is vital for informing policy, shaping interventions and driving social change. However, conducting research in this sensitive field carries significant emotional, professional and ethical challenges that remain underexplored. This article offers a reflective methodological contribution, examining the personal and structural costs of researching domestic violence and other sensitive topics in academia. Drawing on autoethnographic material, we analyse three interrelated dimensions of being affected: the personal dimension – the direct toll and emotional costs on ourselves; the academic dimension – researchers’ position and possibility of addressing and utilising emotions in academia; and the political dimension – the moral responsibility of doing justice to participants’ experiences. These dimensions reflect the researcher as a human being, an academic and a responsible citizen. While situated in gender-based violence research, our reflections speak to all scholars engaged in emotionally demanding inquiry. We argue that transparency, reflexivity and recognition of the emotional impact are central to ethical research and essential for the sustainability of knowledge production in this and other sensitive fields. By highlighting the often-overlooked burdens on researchers, this article calls for academic structures that better support scholars working with violence, trauma and injustice – ensuring that research not only persists but flourishes.