Conducting Community Interviews OVM Volunteer Training

AGENDA OVM Monitoring Project Human Rights Monitoring Interview Protocol Mock Interview

One Voice Minnesota Monitoring Project Investigate Document Assess how fully Minnesota welcomes all residents of our state

What is a welcoming state? All people can live with dignity = HUMAN RIGHTS  Equality  Life  Family  Physical integrity  Right to adequate food, clothing, and housing  Freedom from slavery  Right to education  Freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention or exile  Right to health care  Freedom of movement  Due process  Right to form trade unions and to strike  Asylum  Freedom of expression  Freedom of association  Right to safe & healthy working conditions  Right to social security  Right to privacy

Community Monitoring Statistics and Other Data Systems Analysis

Volunteer Role The Advocates for Human Rights Volunteer Agreement: No compensation for volunteers Confidentiality Advocates holds copyright Community Human Rights Monitor Volunteer Agreement – Interviewer Volunteer is responsible for finding interview subjects Complete work within 6 weeks Communicate with Advocates Confidentiality Media inquiries

What is Human Rights Monitoring?

Human rights monitoring is a method used to see, in a systematic, unbiased, and factual manner, whether human rights are fully respected. Through monitoring, information is collected, verified, analyzed, and used to identify and address human rights problems. What is Human Rights Monitoring?

Human rights monitors seek to identify and investigate the gap between the international standards and those standards in reality. What is Human Rights Monitoring?

Why Monitor Human Rights? Help victims Raise awareness Influence public policy Provide early warning of potential violations Pressure government to fulfill obligations Empower rights-holders Build the human rights movement

Human Rights Fundamentals Safety and Security: Political, legal, economic, cultural, and social systems exist that, when combined, give people the building blocks for survival, livelihood, and dignity. Non-discrimination: All people are entitled to the same human rights without distinction based on race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status. Accountability: Human rights must be protected by the rule of law. Governments must comply with the legal norms and standards enshrined in human rights instruments. Participation: Every person is entitled to active, free, and meaningful participation in, contribution to, and enjoyment of political, economic, social, and cultural development.

Strategies of a Human Rights Approach Address root causes Empower rights-holders Work with responsible authorities Protect marginalized groups Safety and Security Non- discrimination Accountability Participation

Address the root causes of the problem Uncover the political, legal, social, economic, and cultural conditions that perpetuate human rights violations. Safety and Security HUMAN RIGHTS STRATEGY 1

Getting the Whole Story

Address Root Causes in Action To identify systemic barriers to welcome, the OVM Monitoring Project brings together: Analysis of laws and policies Interviews with government officials, community leaders, and other “systems” people Community interviews and conversations Data and statistics on problem areas

Protect marginalized groups The investigation of human rights violations should not cause further damage to those who have already suffered human rights violations. Non-discrimination HUMAN RIGHTS STRATEGY 2

Human Rights Monitoring Principles DO NO HARM (ensure safety and security) Consider the unintended consequences Respect the mandate Know the international human rights standards Understand the community and seek their consultation Protect confidentiality of information Always exercise good judgment/ act professionally Be impartial, objective, accurate, and patient Ensure credibility

Protect Marginalized Groups in Action OVM Monitoring Project Confidentiality Policy: All information gathered from community interviews will be used anonymously in the report – no names or identifying information. All records will be kept at The Advocates office – do not keep any records of the interviews after submitting them.

Identify responsible authorities Cooperate with and encourage positive changes in the response of government and other responsible authorities to human rights situations. Accountability HUMAN RIGHTS STRATEGY 3

Identify Responsible Authorities in Action After the report is finished, the One Voice Minnesota project will undertake: Public education to raise awareness and change values around immigration Legal reform so laws reflect human rights Training for responsible authorities so they have knowledge and skills to uphold rights Coalition-building to expand the movement for immigrant rights in Minnesota

Understand the community you are working with and seek their consultation and involvement in the monitoring process. Empower rights-holders Participation HUMAN RIGHTS STRATEGY 4

Empower Rights-Holders in Action Community members are at the heart of the OVM Monitoring Project Community-based fact-finding oInterviews oCommunity conversations Training for community members to build human rights knowledge and skills (YOU!) Findings from community help guide other research and shape recommendations

Practicing Principles

DO NO HARM do no harm How can you “do no harm” in the following situation? You arrange an interview with a member of your community organization. During the interview, you notice the person appears nervous about talking to you and hesitant in giving answers. When you ask her if she really wants to do the interview, she says that the director of the organization strongly encouraged her to participate and she’s worried about not getting the assistance she needs if she does not give an interview. How do you respond?

RESPECT THE MANDATE respect the mandate How can you “respect the mandate” in the following situation? During an interview, the person you are interviewing tells a story of being discriminated against during a job interview, with the employer using ethnic slurs and stating that they don’t work with “his type of people.” He is clearly upset about the incident, but when you ask what he did after the job interview, he says that he did nothing. What do you do?

RESPECT THE MANDATE respect the mandate How can you “respect the mandate” in the following situation? During an interview, the person you are interviewing talks about how she forces her children to only speak English at home and yells at them if they act “too ethnic.” You want to say something to her about how harmful this is to her children’s self-identity. Do you?

RESPECT THE MANDATE respect the mandate How can you “respect the mandate” in the following situation? In your first 5 interviews, everyone tells you that being an immigrant isn’t a problem, at least compared to being low-income. Do you change your questions to ask about class discrimination?

RESPECT THE MANDATE respect the mandate How can you “respect the mandate” in the following situation? You interview someone who works for a great organization that gives you a lot of good information. You can tell the employees there are hard-working, smart, and dedicated. You are grateful to them for their time in granting you the interview. Before you leave, the organization says they want to start a free legal clinic, because it’s badly needed in their community. They ask if you or The Advocates can help them raise funds or give them advice on starting the legal clinic. What do you do?

MAINTAIN CONFIDENTIALITY maintain confidentiality How can you “maintain confidentiality” in the following situation? You are interviewing a community leader. After the interview, she invites you to have coffee. She asks who you have talked to and specifically, what members of her community have been saying to you. She says that knowing what they are saying will help her improve her advocacy work for immigrants.

MAINTAIN CONFIDENTIALITY maintain confidentiality How can you “maintain confidentiality” in the following situation? After you finish your interviews for this project, a well- respected journal contacts you out of the blue and asks you to write a short article about immigration in Minnesota. You have lots of compelling stories you heard in interviews that you know would make for a great article. You won’t mention anyone by name. Should you use those interviews?

Interview Protocol

General Considerations Will not always have ideal conditions Use your judgment on how to deviate from the guidelines Take advantage of opportunities to gather information

Interview Conditions 2 people per interview –Lead interviewer –Note taker Interpreter? Laptops okay –Bring notepad 1-2 interviewees at a time is ideal

Interview Conditions Have as few people as possible in the room Consider setup of the room and seating arrangement Make sure no interruptions Seating of interpreter

Conduct during Interview Maintain eye contact with interviewee –Cultural considerations Avoid judgmental or evaluative remarks or expressions Be patient – allow silence/time to speak Do not interrupt speaker Do not push interviewee. –If sensitive issue, return to it later Know when to stop

Beginning the Interview Note interviewee names, titles, organization, city, contact info date, team members, and interpreter present –Have them write down Introductory statement –Mandate of project –Explain how info will be used –Explain what you can and cannot do with info (do not raise expectations) Assure interviewee of confidentiality – review disclosure form Establish basic rapport

Interview Questions Open-ended questions Begin with non-controversial and less sensitive questions Ask for clarification of anything you don’t understand –No second chances! Avoid leading questions Ask questions in concise language (no lingo or slang) Retelling an incident –Let them tell story chronologically; get details as needed

Interview Questions Be prepared to deviate from the question set Be as thorough as possible –Treat each interview as though last and only chance with interviewee Do not ask questions outside project mandate Ask interviewee to spell out names as needed Do not show disbelief or anger about answers Stories: details, details, details!

Working with Difficult Interviewees The interviewee with no information The “focus group” –3+ interviewees Interruptions The interviewee who asks you for something

Working with Difficult Interviewees Anticipate potential problems Provide context to create trust Demonstrate understanding of challenges Back up and engage in “small talk” if appropriate Rephrase your questions If all else fails, end interview and try to reschedule

Ending the Interview Fill out demographic questionnaire Allow note-taker chance to ask follow-up questions Ask if interviewee has anything else to add Allow interviewee to ask you questions Reassure interviewee about confidentiality Reiterate mandate and how info will be used Ensure you have contact info for follow-up questions

After the Interview Write up and finalize your notes ASAP (that day or week if possible) Add any notes about credibility or observations Identify any follow-up Communicate results with The Advocates

Mock Interviews