Research is an essential component of gaining a better understanding of the needs of survivors and how best to respond and to prevent sexual violence globally. Our global understanding of sexual violence is skewed towards developed country settings where the majority our research knowledge is drawn. Research in different settings, across different class, race, age, religious and national boundaries is essential for the development of informed policies, services, treatment and prevention programmes. Sexual violence is a sensitive topic and undertaking research on sexual violence poses some unique methodological and ethical challenges, including issues of safety; confidentiality; and researcher skill and training. Researchers who want to better understand sexual violence must do so with a comprehensive understanding of the ethical issues involved. This page is formulated to inform those that are concerned with the planning, conduct, funding, reviewing of protocols or approving data gathering on sexual violence research. This page should be viewed as a resource or tool for: Researchers; research ethics committees or ethical review boards; rape advocacy groups; community ombudsman; community structures and all people involved in sexual violence research either as data collectors, translators and  transcribers, interpreters, data entry staff and others.

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• Guidelines for Research. National Children’s Bureau. 2006

• Developing a Framework for Social Science Research Ethics. The Economic and Social Research Council. 2005
• Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. UNESCO. 2005

• The RESPECT Code of Practice. Professional and Ethical Codes for Socio-Economic Research in the Information Society. The Respect Project. 2004

• A Comparative Assessment of Good Practice in Programs for Men who use Violence Against Female Partners. Canberrra, ACT: Office of the status of women, the Department of the Prime Minisyer and Cabinet. 2004
• WHO Ethical and Safety Recommendations for Interviewing Trafficked Women. World Health Organization. 2003

• Ethical Principles Of Psychologists And Code Of Conduct. American Psychological Association. 2002

• Forskningsetiska principer inom humanistisk-samhällsvetenskaplig forskning. Vetenskapsrådet. 2002

• NOTA Code of Ethics. The National Organisation for the Treatment of Abusers. 2002 
• Statement of ethical practices for the British Sociological Association. British Sociological Association. 2002

• Code of Ethics and Policies and Procedures of the ASA Committee on Professional Ethics. American Sociological Association. 1999

• Putting Women First: Ethical and Safety Recommendations for Research on Domestic Violence Against Women, Department of Gender and Women's Health Family and Community Health. World Health Organization. 1999

• Code of Ethics of the American Anthropological Association. American Anthropological Association. 1998

• Vulnerable Adolescent Participants' Experience in Surveys on Sexuality and Sexual Abuse: Ethical Aspects. Priebe G, Bäckström M, Ainsaar M. Child Abuse Negl; ePub, 2010
• Ethics of Conducting Research In Conflict Settings. Ford N, Mills E.J , Zachariah R, Upshur R. Conflict and Health, 3(7), 2009
  
• Managing Ethical Issues in Sexual Violence Research Using a Pilot Study. Duma S.E, Khanyile T.D, Daniels F. Curationis; 32(1): 52-8, 2009  
  
• Impact of Asking Sensitive Questions About Violence to Children and Adolescents. Ybarra ML, Langhinrichsen-Rohling J, Friend J, Diener-West M. J Adolesc Health; 45(5, 2009.
  
• An ethical approach to resolving value conflicts in child protection. Moynihan S, Webb E. Arch Dis Child 2009; ePub: In this paper we apply the philosophical concepts of absolutism and relativism to child abuse, and explore how this approach has practical relevance to solving ethical dilemmas in child protection. [Source: SafetyLit] Full abstract
• Violence and health: theoretical, methodological, and ethical contributions from studies on violence against women. Schraiber LB, D'Oliveira AF, Couto MT. Cad Saude Publica; 25(2): S205-16 2009:
• Training Interviewers for Research on Sexual Violence: A Qualitative Study of Rape Survivors' Recommendations for Interview Practice. Campbell, R., Adams, A.E., Wasco, S.M., Ahrens, C.E & Sefl, T. Violence Against Women, 15: 595 - 617. 2009 
• Combining Ethical Considerations With Recruitment and Follow-Up Strategies for Partner Violence Victimization Research. Logan T, Walker R, Shannon L, Cole J. Violence Against Women; ePUb 2008
• Research Participants Telling the Truth About Their Lives - The Ethics of Asking and Not Asking About Abuse. Becker-Blease K.A & Freyd, J.J. American Pschologist. 2006
• Balancing privacy protections with efficient research: Institutional review boards and the use of certificates of confidentiality. Currie, P. M. IRB: Ethics & Human Research, 27(5), 7-12. 2005
• Child and parent reactions to participation in clinical research. Kassam-Adams, N., & Newman, E. General Hospital Psychiatry, 27(1), 29-35. 2005
• Confidentiality and public protection:  Ethical dilemmas in qualitative research with adult male sex offenders. Cowburn, M.  Journal of Sexual Aggression.  Vol 11(1):49-63. 2005
• Ethics in Violence Against Women Research: The Sensitive, the Dangerous, and the Overlooked. Fontes, L.A., Ethics & Behavior, 14(2), 141–174, 2004.
• Ethics in Violence Against Women Research: The Sensitive, the Dangerous, and the Overlooked. Fontes, L.A., Ethics & Behavior, 14(2), 141–174, 2004.
  
• Coercion and informed consent in research involving prisoners. Moser, D. J., Arndt, S., Kanz, J. E., Benjamin, M. L., Bayless, J. D., Reese, R. L., et al. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 45(1), 1-9. 2004
• Ethics in violence against women research: The sensitive, the dangerous, and the overlooked. Fontes, L. A. Ethics & Behavior, 14(2), 141-174. 2004 
• Recruitment approaches for family studies: Attitudes of index patients and their relatives. Hull, S. C., Glanz, K., Steffen, A., & Wilfond, B. S. IRB: Ethics & Human Research, 26(4), 12-18. 2004
• The risks and benefits of participating in trauma-focused research studies. Newman, E., & Kaloupek, D. G. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 17(5), 383-394. 2004
• Distress in response to and perceived usefulness of trauma research interviews. Carlson, E. B., Newman, E., Daniels, J. W., Armstrong, J., Roth, D., & Loewenstein, R.  Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 4(2), 131-142. 2003
• Signed consent forms in criminological research: Protection for researchers and ethics committees but a threat to research participants? Roberts, L., & Indermaur, D. Psychiatry, Psychology, & Law, 10(2), 289-299. 2003
• Suffering experienced by abusive families confronted with intervention by social services. Haesevoets, Y.-H.  Evolution Psychiatrique, 68(4), 509-529. 2003
• An ethic of responsibility in practice. Pouligny, B. International Social Science Journal, 54(4), 529-538. 2002
• Ethics in community mental health care: Commonplace concerns. Backlar, P., & Cutler, D. L. (Eds.). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers. 2002

• Human rights, politics, and reviews of research ethics. Beyrer, C & Kass, N, Lancet, Volume 360 Issue 9328. 2002.  (Note: quick registration required for access)
• The reactions to research participation questionnaires for children and for parents (rrpq-c and rrpq-p). Kassam-Adams, N., & Newman, E. General Hospital Psychiatry, 24(5), 336-342. 2002
• Violence against women: A global burden. Venis, S., & Horton, R.  Lancet, 359, 1172. 2002

• Domestic violence in the lives of children: the future of research, intervention and social policy (pp. 213-318). J. L. Edleson (Eds.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. 2001
• Female street workers, sexual violence, and protection strategies. Sanders, T.  Journal of Sexual Aggression, 7(1), 5-18. 2001
• Legal, ethical and clinical implications of doing field work with youth gang members who engage in serious violence. Totten, M.  Journal of Gang Research,  8(4), 35-56. 2001
• Researching children’s experience of interparental violence: Towards a multidimensional conceptualization. Eisikovits, Z., & Winstok, Z. In S. A. Graham-Bermann. 2001

• Researching domestic violence against women: Methodological and ethical considerations. Ellsberg, M., Heise, L., Pena, R., Agurto, S., & Winkvist, A. Studies in Family Planning, 32(1), 1-16. 2001
• Ethical and methodological issues in conducting research on gender-based violence in Southern Africa. Jewkes R, Watts C, Abrahams N, Penn-Kekana L, Garcia-Moreno C.Reprod Health Matters, 8: 93-103. 2000
• Human subject issues in batterer program evaluation. Gondolf, E. W.Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 4(1), 273-297. 2000
• Ethics in family violence research: Cross-cultural issues. Fontes, L. A. Family Relations: Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies, 47(1), 53-61. 1998
• Researching sexual violence against women: Methodological and personal perspectives. Schwartz, M. D. (Ed.).  Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. 1997
• Confidentiality issues in psychological research. Peterson, C. C., & Siddle, D. A. Australian Psychologist, 30(3), 187-190. 1995

• Bioethics Resources on the Web. National Institutes of Health.
• Challenging Ethical Issues in Contemporary Research on Human Beings. National Health and Medical Research Council.
• Convention on the rights of the child. UNICEF.
• Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma
• ResearchEthics.ca.
• The Ethics of Research on Vulnerable Populations. The Online Ethics Centre.

• Research Ethics Training Curriculum. Family Health International
• Researching Violence against Women: A Practical  Guide for Researchers and Activists. World Health Organization and Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) 2005