The HUMAN SECURITY SURVEY (HSS) is a methodology developed by PAX's Protection of Civilians (PoC) depart-ment to collect data and facilitate constructive dialogue about civilians' experiences, perceptions, and expecta-tions in situations of conflict. The intended purpose is threefold: 1) to increase the understanding of local securi-ty dynamics and trends; 2) to enhance the 'claim-making capacity' of civilians to identify their priorities and hold security providers and decision makers accountable; and 3) to inform evidence-based advocacy that enables inter-national stakeholders to design and implement protection activities that reflect local realities. PAX implements all aspects of the HSS in Iraq in close collaboration with its partners on the ground, the IRAQI AL-AMAL ASSOCIA-TION and the IRAQI AL-FIRDAWS SOCIETY.
The survey in Kirkuk took place over just one week in April 2017. Our enumerators completed 759 surveys across 3 of the governorate's 4 districts. Target numbers were allocat-ed across sub-districts based on population density, and specific research sites were selected or omitted based on security, physical accessibility, and with an eye to ensuring demographic diversity. Note that it was not possible to conduct interviews within Hawija district, where many communities remained at the time under the territorial control of Daesh (also known as the Islamic State or ISIS). Interviews intended for this region instead occurred in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps where people from Hawija had relocated. Aside from specifically tar-geting these displaced populations, the remaining commu-nities, as well as all households and individual respondents were selected as randomly as possible using a set of sys-tematic procedures in order to maximize generalizability. Participation is voluntary and data are strictly confidential.