SVRI’s Faith & GBV Community of Practice – Working Group 1 on Evidence-Building. (2025). Policy Brief. Transforming faith-based responses to gender-based violence (GBV): Evidence and action from Africa and Latin America. Sexual Violence Research Initiative.

Abstract

This policy brief stems from an innovative research collaboration led by the SVRI’s Community of Practise (CoP), specifically Working Group 1 (WG1) on Evidence Building. From October 2024 to May 2025, WG1 explored the intersecting roles of faith, culture, and community in shaping GBV prevention efforts. The initiative aimed to challenge conventional evidence-building paradigms that often exclude spiritual knowledge systems, fail to address power asymmetries and overlook youth voices. This exploration was primarily located within African and Latin American contexts.

The brief offers a synthesis of the WG1 findings and outlines actionable recommendations for researchers, policymakers, legal institutions, civil society, and donors. It centres the voices of young people, survivors, and faith actors working at the intersection of trauma, belief, and transformation.