HIN4801 ASSIGNMNENT 5 2026
DUE 14 OCTOBER 2026
QUESTION 1: ETHICS IN RESEARCH
1.1 Describe your understanding of the principles of justice and fairness related
to research about women (answer this question using any of the 11 official
languages).
The principles of justice and fairness in research about women require that the benefits
and burdens of research are distributed equitably, that women’s lived experiences of
intersecting oppressions are centred rather than erased, and that research does not
reproduce or deepen existing inequalities of gender, race, class and culture.
Justice, as articulated in the Belmont Report and extended by feminist and womanist
scholars, demands fair distribution: women must not be systematically excluded from
research that could benefit them, nor disproportionately burdened with risks without
corresponding benefits (National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of
Biomedical and Behavioral Research, 1979; Mastroianni, Faden & Federman, 1994).
Fairness further requires corrective action where historical under-representation has
occurred, so that research agendas address women’s specific health, social and
epistemic needs rather than treating the male body or male experience as the default
(Young, 1990; Sherwin, 1994).
, Feminist, womanist and Bosadi theorisations deepen this understanding. Bosadi,
developed by Madipoane Masenya (ngwan’a Mphahlele), is an African-South African
woman’s liberation hermeneutic that takes as its starting point the unique, intersecting
experiences of Black African women under patriarchy, racial oppression, classism,
sexism and certain oppressive elements of African culture (Masenya, 1996; 2005;
Unisa, n.d.). It insists that research must affirm the full humanity of the mosadi and
generate knowledge that is liberatory rather than extractive. Womanist approaches
similarly centre the multiple vulnerabilities of women of colour and demand that their
voices and spiritual-ethical frameworks shape the research process (Cannon, 1988;
Walker, 1983). Together these lenses require researchers to ask: Whose interests does
this research serve? Whose knowledge is privileged? And does the research contribute
to dismantling, rather than reinforcing, the structures that oppress women?
Thus justice and fairness mean not merely procedural inclusion, but epistemic justice:
shared authority over research questions, design, interpretation and dissemination so
that women are treated as knowers and co-producers of knowledge rather than objects
of study (Fricker, 2007; Jackson, 2026).
1.2 Discuss the ethical risks that may be experienced in research regarding the
representation of women. (10 marks)
Research concerning the representation of women carries several interrelated ethical
risks that can harm participants, distort knowledge and perpetuate injustice.
First is the risk of exclusion and under-representation. Historically, women (especially
pregnant women, women of colour and those from lower socio-economic groups) have
been excluded from clinical and social research on grounds of “complexity” or protective
paternalism. This produces knowledge that is not generalisable to women and denies
them the benefits of research findings (Mastroianni et al., 1994; Dresser, 1992). The
opposite risk is tokenistic inclusion: women are included numerically but denied
epistemic authority; their presence becomes symbolic rather than substantive,
reproducing marginalisation (Jackson, 2026).
DUE 14 OCTOBER 2026
QUESTION 1: ETHICS IN RESEARCH
1.1 Describe your understanding of the principles of justice and fairness related
to research about women (answer this question using any of the 11 official
languages).
The principles of justice and fairness in research about women require that the benefits
and burdens of research are distributed equitably, that women’s lived experiences of
intersecting oppressions are centred rather than erased, and that research does not
reproduce or deepen existing inequalities of gender, race, class and culture.
Justice, as articulated in the Belmont Report and extended by feminist and womanist
scholars, demands fair distribution: women must not be systematically excluded from
research that could benefit them, nor disproportionately burdened with risks without
corresponding benefits (National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of
Biomedical and Behavioral Research, 1979; Mastroianni, Faden & Federman, 1994).
Fairness further requires corrective action where historical under-representation has
occurred, so that research agendas address women’s specific health, social and
epistemic needs rather than treating the male body or male experience as the default
(Young, 1990; Sherwin, 1994).
, Feminist, womanist and Bosadi theorisations deepen this understanding. Bosadi,
developed by Madipoane Masenya (ngwan’a Mphahlele), is an African-South African
woman’s liberation hermeneutic that takes as its starting point the unique, intersecting
experiences of Black African women under patriarchy, racial oppression, classism,
sexism and certain oppressive elements of African culture (Masenya, 1996; 2005;
Unisa, n.d.). It insists that research must affirm the full humanity of the mosadi and
generate knowledge that is liberatory rather than extractive. Womanist approaches
similarly centre the multiple vulnerabilities of women of colour and demand that their
voices and spiritual-ethical frameworks shape the research process (Cannon, 1988;
Walker, 1983). Together these lenses require researchers to ask: Whose interests does
this research serve? Whose knowledge is privileged? And does the research contribute
to dismantling, rather than reinforcing, the structures that oppress women?
Thus justice and fairness mean not merely procedural inclusion, but epistemic justice:
shared authority over research questions, design, interpretation and dissemination so
that women are treated as knowers and co-producers of knowledge rather than objects
of study (Fricker, 2007; Jackson, 2026).
1.2 Discuss the ethical risks that may be experienced in research regarding the
representation of women. (10 marks)
Research concerning the representation of women carries several interrelated ethical
risks that can harm participants, distort knowledge and perpetuate injustice.
First is the risk of exclusion and under-representation. Historically, women (especially
pregnant women, women of colour and those from lower socio-economic groups) have
been excluded from clinical and social research on grounds of “complexity” or protective
paternalism. This produces knowledge that is not generalisable to women and denies
them the benefits of research findings (Mastroianni et al., 1994; Dresser, 1992). The
opposite risk is tokenistic inclusion: women are included numerically but denied
epistemic authority; their presence becomes symbolic rather than substantive,
reproducing marginalisation (Jackson, 2026).
