There is growing global recognition of the intersections between VAW and VAC. Researchers, practitioners, activists and donors from both the VAW and VAC fields are recognizing that collaboration and increased coherence in programming are essential to meet women’s, adolescents’, and children’s needs, and to maximise synergies. The Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI), UNICEF Innocenti, and the Special Programme on Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction (HRP) hosted by WHO are joining efforts to develop global research priorities on the intersections between VAW and VAC. This research agenda will contribute to building knowledge in a more systematic way, ensure that research efforts make the best use of limited resources, and serve to monitor progress over time.
A consultative, inclusive process among VAW and VAC stakeholders will identify areas where research can enhance coordination, alignment and consistency to address the intersections in innovative and effective ways. The process, as much as the outcomes, will help strengthen both fields and build bridges for the benefit of children, adolescents, and women everywhere.
Priority-setting for research has often been carried out in an unstructured manner, or in a way which results in the research agendas of the most powerful or well published participants taking centre stage. Recent efforts have attempted to provide an objective, repeatable, structured and transparent methodology for priority setting that also takes into account the views of all stakeholders and not simply those of technical experts. One method that is increasingly being used to set research priorities is the Child Health and Nutrition Initiative (CHNRI) of the Global Forum for Health Research. The methodology has been designed so that it can be used at country level, a global level, or even a research institute level.
This process will follow these steps:
STEP 1: Establishment of a coordinating group. This group is made up of representatives from SVRI, UNICEF Innocenti, WHO and a technical expert on the CHNRI method from Stellenbosch University.
STEP 2: Establishment of an Advisory Group. The Advisory Group include representatives from research and practice on VAC-VAW intersections from around the globe.
STEP 3: Recruit Global Stakeholder Group. All people addressing VAC, VAW, or the intersections between these forms of violence are welcome to join and give inputs into the priority setting process including identify which questions the field needs to address in each domain (see below) and creating a ranked priority list. Sign up here.
STEP 4: Define domains. The overarching themes or umbrellas under which potential research questions could be grouped drafted by the coordinating and advisory groups. Read about the domains here.
STEP 5: Decide scoring criteria. Each research question is scored according to 3-5 criteria (e.g. answerability, feasibility, equity, relevance to community, reduction in burden, community involvement, novelty, potential for translation) identified by the coordinating and advisory groups.
STEP 6: Generation of research questions. All people involved in this process – the global stakeholder group, the advisory group, and the coordinating group – were invited to submit the key questions they would like answered about VAC-VAW intersections in each domain identified above via an online submission form in March/April 2022. The next step will be for the coordinating and advisory groups to remove duplicates and reduce the number of questions to be scored to a manageable number.
STEP 7: Scoring. The list of research questions have been built into a survey with scoring options according to specific criteria. All stakeholders – including practitioners, services providers, researchers/academics, activists, policy makers, donors, and others – working to address VAC and VAW in various ways in all parts of the world are invited to score the research questions this month. Please submit your responses by 30 June 2022 in one of the surveys below:
- Complete the survey in English
- Complete the survey in Spanish
- Complete the survey in Arabic
- Complete the survey in French
STEP 8: Analysis and ranking. All data from the scoring will then be analysed and the research questions ranked by the coordinating group. The analysis results in research priority setting scores somewhere between zero and 100. The transparent nature of the scoring then allows a breakdown by criteria (e.g. equity), by domain, by geography (low income vs upper middle income), and by nature of job (NGO vs academic), etc.
STEP 9: Validation workshop. We will host a validation workshop to examine the results and open a discussion with the advisory group.
STEP 10: Publication and dissemination. A final report will be produced and widely disseminated including an online launch as well as a launch event at SVRI Forum in September in Cancun Mexico.
Technical briefing sessions
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Recording: Watch the technical briefing sessions.
- PowerPoint presentation: Ranking and scoring of research question
Frequently asked questions
- Can I share the survey with my colleagues working in the field and in my office?
Yes, please do! We encourage you to share the survey with your colleagues and networks – multiple people within the same organization or unit/department are welcome and encouraged to complete the survey individually. They can watch the recording of the technical briefing sessions or just follow the instructions on the survey itself. If they have any questions they are more than welcome to email Anik (Anik@svri.org) or Shanice (Shanice@sun.ac.za). - Will the surveys be available in any other languages other than English?
Yes, the surveys are available in Spanish, Arabic, and French.
For more information about this research priority setting process, please contact Anik Gevers (SVRI) at anik@svri.org
Image references:
Guedes, A., Bott, S., Garcia-Moreno, C., & Colombini, M. (2016). Bridging the gaps: a global review of intersections of violence against women and violence against children. Global health action 9(1): 31516.
Fulu, E., McCook, S & Falb, K (2017). What works to prevent violence against women and girls evidence review. Intersections of violence against women and violence against children. What Works to Prevent Violence: Global Programme.