Agency

The SVRI is the world’s largest network on research on violence against women and violence against children, providing a space where global role players in the field connect with one another, share and promote their research, work to influence policies and improve the lives of those who have experienced gender-based violence. We do this through funding research, strengthening research capacity, promoting partnerships and influencing change. The biennial SVRI Forum enables networking and collaboration to take place, being the face of SVRI, and in the eyes of many, irreplaceable. SVRI Strategic Plan 2020-2024.

SVRI Principles

SVRI is wedded to our core values, feminist principles, and the ideal of the broader social good. We are committed to always put kindness at the heart of how we work with all of our partners, stakeholders, and members. In the delivery of our SVRI Strategic Plan, SVRI will ensure that all the work we undertake is in line with the following principles:

1. Feminist and Women-Centred

SVRI promotes research that is collaborative; works across fields; explores and challenges power imbalances that exist both in research and in society; is intersectional and provides new knowledge grounded in women’s realities that strives to achieve structural change.

2. Rights-Based

SVRI recognises that VAW and VAC are human-rights violations and promotes work that seeks to give women and children agency and respects and promotes their human rights. Research on VAW and VAC should recognise the unequal power relationships between men and women and adults and children, as well as the social and structural constructions of gender and sexuality.

3. Ethical

SVRI insists that all research on VAW and VAC is conducted in accordance with the highest ethical and safety standards. All SVRI programmes and documents are furthermore executed and disseminated with ethical standards in mind.

4. Innovative

SVRI promotes new ideas, new methodologies and new partnerships. SVRI believes policy-making and practice should integrate the best available evidence from a wide range of sources.

5. Collaborative

SVRI encourages and is committed to assisting diverse actors to support each other with interconnected issues and encourage dialogue and partnerships both within and across projects. The building of partnerships across disciplines, geographic regions, and income levels is integral to our goals and values as an organisation.

6. Equitable 

SVRI is committed to bringing diverse voices from LMICs (researchers, survivors, marginalised groups) to the field. SVRI also promotes the leadership of LMIC-based researchers and building the capacity of global research institutions in these countries. We strive to balance research resources and power between high, low, and middle-income countries.

What Guides our Work?

The work of the SVRI is guided by the SVRI Leadership Council, a group of experts from different disciplines, networks of organisations on VAW and VAC, and global regions.  In addition to this expert guidance, the work of the SVRI is framed by the Sexual Violence Research Agenda.  The Sexual Violence Research Agenda identifies focus areas for research, within which 6 broad priority areas are outlined. These are:

Priority Area 1: Nature, Prevalence, Social Context and Risk Factors Associated with Sexual Violence
Priority Area 2: Sexual Violence Prevention
Priority Area 3: Appropriateness and Effectiveness of Sexual Violence Services
Priority Area 4: Childhood Sexual Abuse
Priority Area 5: Sexual Violence in Conflict and Emergency Settings
Priority Area 6: HIV and Sexual Violence

Principles for SVRI Projects

All projects implemented or supported by the SVRI should:

• Adhere to international safety and ethical guidelines
• Focus on low and middle income-settings
• Be conceptualized within a human rights framework
• Strive to be cross-sectoral and multi-disciplinary;
• Where relevant and appropriate endeavour to engage the community that is being researched;
• Challenge the gender hierarchy that contributes to sexual violence in order to promote gender equality.
• Inform policy, programs and services and serve to strengthen access to comprehensive care and support for survivors