Research with survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) is important. Understanding their experiences of violence and the impact this has on their lives will help to design effective policies to end this violence.
But research with survivors also brings potential risks, such as retraumatization, safety issues and feelings of exploitation. These challenges are magnified if research is done by Northern researchers, because of the power inequalities that exist between researcher, participants and research partners.
To overcome these risks, we have worked together with partners from Guatemala, Kenya and Uganda to develop guidelines which will help researchers, participants and organisations involved in research, to make sure that research is carried out in ethical ways, enabling it to contribute to the transformation of survivors’ lives and the elimination of GBV around the world.
