Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI)

📥 SVRI’s newsletter brings to your inbox the latest publications, resources, events and opportunities from the field of violence against women and children. Below is a snapshot of this week's Update. Subscribe now to receive similar content every Thursday: https://bit.ly/SVRIUpdate  🔎 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯’𝘴 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘩𝘰𝘭-𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘝𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦: 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢. This paper by researchers from the South African Medical Research Council explores the role of alcohol in women’s experience of severe intimate partner violence (SIPV) in South Africa through a qualitative study. https://bit.ly/42NvNd0  📝 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘀: 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵: 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘦𝘹𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘝𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵: This blog explores the unintended harms of mandatory reporting policies for sexual- and gender-based violence, especially in conflict-affected humanitarian settings, based on the findings from a multi-country study and a 2024 International Committee of the Red Cross - ICRC and the British Red Cross conference. https://bit.ly/3GmtBBy  💡 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀: 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘝𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘝𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯: 𝘈 𝘛𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴: This toolkit by the University of Cape Town & MOSAIC Training Services and Healing Centre summarises lessons from the field of violence prevention programming to encourage implementers to consider how interventions can be designed or adapted to better address the shared risks of violence against women and children, drawing on existing research evidence and practice-based knowledge. https://bit.ly/4lMLw4w  💰 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀: 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴: 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘉𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴’ 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭: If you are an activist, organizer, advocate, artivist, educator or a social change maker committed to building a more just world, you can apply now before May 11 to participate in this global school organised by JASS (Just Associates). https://bit.ly/4jLRCQO  And much more! ➡️ Subscribe now and become part of SVRI’s network: https://bit.ly/SVRIUpdate

TWO DAYS AWAY! 🌟 Our next free, online Wellness Workshop is coming up on 24th April, and we’d love to see you there! Designed specifically for GBV researchers and practitioners, this session—led by the Mental Wellness Initiative and funded by the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) — offers a chance to pause, recharge, and pick up practical tools for mental well-being. 🧘♀️ Expect guided meditation, breathing exercises, and simple techniques you can integrate into your daily routine. 📅 Date: 24 April 2025 🕚 Time: 11am GMT | 12pm CET | 1pm SAST 📍 Location: Zoom 💡 Missed the first session? Catch up with resources on our website 👉https://lnkd.in/e6Bi3kmG ✨ What is a Wellness Workshop? It’s a monthly space for reflection, connection, and growth—free and open to all professionals working in the field of gender-based violence. Join us and make your well-being a priority. 💙 #WellnessWorkshop #GBV #MentalHealthMatters #ResearchCommunity #SelfCareForResearchers #GenderBasedViolence Mental Wellness Initiative Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI)

🔍 How can we make sure children with disabilities — especially girls — can safely speak out about school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) and participate in research? 📝In our latest blog, Sightsavers researchers (SVRI grantee 2024) share how their new project in Sierra Leone puts the voices of children with disabilities at the heart of the fight against SRGBV. 🗣️ 33 girls and 37 boys from four schools in Karene District took part in focus groups led by Young Researchers, openly discussing how violence in schools affects them. 💡 Learn how to make research truly inclusive and child-led in our latest blog post ➡️https://lnkd.in/dxtbq49y ✍️ Authors: Dr Steven Kaindeneh, Dr Julia de Kadt, Sapana Basnet, and Alexandre Chailloux. #SRGBV #DisabilityInclusion #ChildRights #EndGBV #InclusiveEducation

#SaveTheDate 📢Join SVRI's Faith & GBV CoP on 30 April 2025 at 3pm SAST to explore the complexities of legitimacy in the context of gender-based violence (GBV) and religion. During the webinar, we will examine how policymakers and faith leaders engage with religion in addressing GBV, how they navigate questions of legitimacy, and how their knowledge and authority are both recognized and challenged within religious and policy frameworks. 🗣️The panel of experts will feature: 🔹Dr. Heba Salah – Senior Researcher at دار الإفتاء المصرية | Egyp's Dar Al-Ifta, specializing in Islamic Studies, Gender, and Development 🔹Virginia Manzitti – Policy Advisor on Freedom of Religion or Belief, European Commission 🔹Sarah Marsso – Activist and Researcher at Musawah and Lallab; Co-chair of Working Group 3 at SVRI's Community of Practice on Faith and Gender-Based Violence ➡️ Register now: https://lnkd.in/d5wf4RCD 👥Learn more and become part of SVRI's Faith & GBV CoP: https://lnkd.in/dYMfb9iq #GBVandFaith #Webinar #ResearchforImpact #GenderPolicies #EndViolence

🙌 Amber Peterman analysed 21 rigorous studies on the impact of different forms of edutainment (educate while entertaining) to reduce violence, following the hype of the "Adolescence" series. Amber found promising evidence, and a gap on VAC literature on edutainment. See below 👇

𝐖𝐞𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝: 𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐀𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐕𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞? 📑In this blog post, Joan Njagi, PhD, Child Sexual Violence Researcher at the SVRI, summarises the main findings of the research agenda on child sexual violence for low- and middle-income countries, as well as the reflections and learnings from the experts who attended the global launch on 20 February 2025. 💡The long-lasting impact of CSV on individuals, families, and communities underscores the need for more cohesive and effective, evidence-based interventions. "Meaningful, systemic change begins with knowledge—and by identifying research gaps and setting clear, strategic priorities, we can pave the way for a future where every child is safe from sexual violence", writes Joan. ➡️Read it here: https://lnkd.in/ddXTD87n

⚠️ To address the lack of effective interventions for violence against women and girls in urban informal settlements, a team from the South African Medical Research Council—an SVRI grantee—collaborated with young women, academics, and NGO partners to co-develop the Zethembe Couples Care intervention in South Africa.     In this project, young women collaborated closely with practitioners and academics to co-create an intervention that combined their own insights into how they believed change could happen based on their lived experiences, with the scientific and practical expertise of researchers and practitioners on what makes intimate partner violence (IPV) prevention efforts effective.     💡 A key finding of the project was that the co-developed intervention addressed factors that the young women considered important and amenable to change, such as couple’s communication and relationship skills. This suggests that co-development can highlight spaces of agency with participants which are not seen often in typical research processes.    ✍ Authors: Andrew Gibbs, Zama Khoza, Sivuyile Khaula, Smanga Mkhwanazi, Jenevieve Mannell, Laura Washington  ➡️ Read SVRI’s Grantee full article: https://lnkd.in/duPDEhjx     📩 To get this type of innovative research on #VAW & #VAC directly into your inbox, subscribe to our weekly newsletter: https://lnkd.in/d9jK-59r #ResearchforImpact #EndViolence #IPVPrevention 

📢 Last Friday, we launched our new self-paced online course on participatory approaches to childhood sexual violence research. If you missed it, the webinar recording is now available online! Over 200 attendees joined us for the launch, where they received an exclusive preview of the course modules and had the chance to ask questions to the development team—comprised of participatory research experts from our partner organisations. 🎥 Watch the recording (with Spanish and French interpretation), view the slide decks, and read a short course description here: https://lnkd.in/djjFzxyJ 📚 Enrol in the course for free—available in English and French: https://lnkd.in/dNfWDDk7 🙏 A huge thank you to the incredible experts who helped bring this course to life: Joan Njagi, PhD, Helen Beckett, Camille Warrington, Claire Cody, Silvie Bovarnick, Bethan Taylor, and the great Jean Elphick and her team from Terre des Hommes Netherlands. 🙌

📝 Call for Grant Writing Workshop Leaders! Are you experienced in grant writing and passionate about supporting the next generation of gender-based violence (GBV) researchers and practitioners? The Gender Violence Research and Collaboration Network (GVR-CN) is looking for individuals to lead 30–90 minute virtual workshops focused on practical grant writing skills. Our network includes 5,000+ early and mid-career researchers and practitioners from over 70 countries, working to prevent and respond to GBV globally. With limited resources and a small coordinating team, we’re seeking experienced colleagues who can share insights, strategies, and encouragement through short, skills-focused sessions. 📢 If you're interested in giving back to the field and helping others navigate the grant writing process, we’d love to hear from you! 📩 Reach out to us at info@gvrcn.org #GBV #GrantWriting #ResearchSupport #GenderBasedViolence #AcademicCommunity #ECRsupport #CapacityBuilding #FundingOpportunities #GlobalHealth #KnowledgeSharing Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) Oak Foundation Gates Foundation Wellcome Trust UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women Elizabeth Dartnall Claudia Garcia Moreno Luise Koch Rebecca Eulalia Alba Brambilla Astha Ramaiya Segun Awolaran Ph.D, FHEA Esther Magano Nantana

Join our first session on TFGBV of the new learning series 'Voices from SVRI Forum 2024'. During the online event, we will dive into the insights of the Forum on how to address #TFGBV against children and young people, and explore the structural and political dimensions of TFGBV. Two sessions available! ➡️ Register now: https://lnkd.in/dhitRjDZ