AJPH
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Purchase Article
Right arrow View Shopping Cart
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by de Gruchy, J.
Right arrow Articles by Lewin, S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by de Gruchy, J.
Right arrow Articles by Lewin, S.
Related Collections
Right arrow Ethics
Right arrow Health Policy
Right arrow Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender Persons
Right arrow Qualitative Research
Right arrow Other Statistics/Evaluation/Research

American Journal of Public Health, Vol 91, Issue 6 865-868, Copyright © 2001 by American Public Health Association

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Ethics that exclude: the role of ethics committees in lesbian and gay health research in South Africa

J de Gruchy and S Lewin
Health and Human Rights Project, University of Cape Town, Trauma Centre for the Victims of Violence and Torture, Cape Town, South Africa. jeanelle.degruchy@ntlworld.com

Prevailing state and institutional ideologies regarding race/ethnicity, gender, and sexuality help to shape, and are influenced by, research priorities. Research ethics committees perform a gatekeeper role in this process. In this commentary, we describe efforts to obtain approval from the ethics committee of a large medical institution for research into the treatment of homosexual persons by health professionals in the South African military during the apartheid era. The committee questioned the "scientific validity" of the study, viewing it as having a "political" rather than a "scientific" purpose. They objected to the framing of the research topic within a human rights discourse and appeared to be concerned that the research might lead to action against health professionals who committed human rights abuses against lesbians and gay men during apartheid. The process illustrates the ways in which heterosexism, and concerns to protect the practice of health professionals from scrutiny, may influence the decisions of ethics committees. Ethics that exclude research on lesbian and gay health cannot be in the public interest. Ethics committees must be challenged to examine the ways in which institutionalized ideologies influence their decision making.


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Am. J. Public HealthHome page
R. E. Malone, V. B. Yerger, C. McGruder, and E. Froelicher
"It's Like Tuskegee in Reverse": A Case Study of Ethical Tensions in Institutional Review Board Review of Community-Based Participatory Research
Am J Public Health, November 1, 2006; 96(11): 1914 - 1919.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2001 by the American Public Health Association