Global collaboration has never been more necessary or more difficult.

Political instability, economic pressure, and shrinking funding for gender equality are reshaping how social progress is made. Authoritarianism is growing, and rights that once seemed secure are being rolled back.

In this environment, spaces for collective learning and action are vital. Yet too often, those spaces are out of reach for the majority of the world’s researchers and practitioners.

The future of our field will not be built in rooms that most people cannot access.

1. Structural barriers to participation

The barriers to participation in global gatherings are well known but remain largely unaddressed.

Visa processes are unpredictable and costly. Researchers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) often wait months for appointments, travel to neighbouring countries to access embassies, and pay fees that far exceed their monthly income, with no guarantee of approval.

Even when visas are granted, financial and logistical challenges persist:

• Flights from many LMICs to major conference destinations can exceed local research budgets.
• Accommodation near venues is often unaffordable.
• Conferences are often held only in English.
• Accessibility remains inconsistent, with limited infrastructure for participants with disabilities.

These structural barriers determine who can contribute to global debates on gender-based violence and who is left out. They reinforce a system in which funding, networks, and influence remain concentrated in a few regions, while most of the work takes place elsewhere.

2. The cost of exclusion

When researchers and practitioners from LMICs cannot participate, the evidence base becomes narrower and less representative. Discussions risk being dominated by well-resourced institutions in the Global Minority, producing policies and programmes disconnected from the realities of implementation.

In a field such as violence against women and violence against children, this imbalance has direct consequences. Context matters. Without equitable participation, opportunities to strengthen local leadership, inform programming, and share innovations are lost.

3. SVRI Forum 2026: A more equitable model

The Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) has long recognised these challenges. Since 2009, our Forums have been designed to advance the global evidence base while modelling a more equitable and inclusive approach to convening.

For SVRI Forum 2026, every planning decision from the location to the structure of the programme has been guided by this principle.

4. Why Bangkok?

After extensive consultation and research, we selected Bangkok, Thailand, as the host city because it offers:

• Visa accessibility with visa-free or visa-on-arrival entry for more than 90 countries, including many across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
• Connectivity through direct and affordable flights from most regions.
• A range of safe and affordable accommodation options near the venue.
• Lower overall costs compared with previous host cities, with substantially reduced daily expenses.

Our aim is to hold the Forum in a place that reflects the realities of where this work happens, not just where the funding sits. While no location removes every barrier, Bangkok offers a fairer, more accessible context for global participation.

5. Co-creating the agenda

The SVRI Forum programme is co-created with the field, not designed in isolation.

It is an abstract-driven event, with every submission peer-reviewed by at least two independent reviewers and more than 200 experts involved in the process. A global survey helps shape plenary and dialogic themes based on the priorities identified by the community.

The result is a transparent, merit-based programme that represents diverse disciplines, regions, and methodologies – a programme developed by the people conducting the research and implementing the work, not by an outside agency.

Forums held outside South Africa are co-hosted with regional partners, ensuring that each event is grounded in local languages, practices, and priorities. Evaluation feedback from previous Forums directly informs planning for the next, helping us refine approaches to inclusion and relevance each time.

The Forum is not a showcase. It is a working platform for the exchange of knowledge and collaboration – a place where researchers, practitioners, and policymakers meet to turn evidence into action.

 

6. Access as a principle of justice

Keeping the Forum accessible while maintaining quality requires deliberate design, sound financial planning, and strong partnerships.

SVRI sets registration fees on a sliding scale that reflects global income differences and benchmarks them against the real cost of delivery. This helps sustain the Forum while keeping participation feasible for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers from LMICs.

Inclusion is built into the Forum’s design from the outset. Each cycle includes dedicated fundraising for bursaries and interpretation to support participation from LMIC researchers and practitioners. In parallel, we allocate resources for accessibility measures such as sign interpretation, wheelchair access, and participant support needs. These costs are part of the core budget, ensuring that participation is determined by expertise and contribution, not by access to funds.

SVRI also prioritises representation from LMIC partners where relevant, while encouraging submissions from researchers in all settings. When research presented at the Forum is based in an LMIC context, we expect that an LMIC researcher or practitioner is part of the panel or authorship team. This ensures that findings are interpreted by those closest to the work, while maintaining a globally informed exchange.

Only a small fraction of major conferences are hosted in low-income countries, and participation is disproportionately drawn from high-income regions (Velin et al., 2021; Chatterjee, 2022). We aim to help change that pattern by making deliberate choices about where and how we convene, ensuring that global evidence is shaped by global participation.

7. What inclusion requires

Hosting an inclusive global gathering requires investment. SVRI focuses its resources where they have the greatest impact: in people and participation.

The Forum is designed to be large enough to be global, yet small enough to remain personal, with around 1,500 participants. This scale allows for substantive discussion, active learning, and collaboration across sectors.

We prioritise interpretation, bursaries, accessibility, and evidence dissemination. We also integrate wellbeing and reflection spaces into the programme, not as an add-on but to support effective learning and engagement in demanding areas of work.

This approach takes resources, but it is not an expense; it is an investment in the collective capacity of the field. We rely on partners and donors who recognise that the Forum is not simply an event but infrastructure that sustains a connected and resilient ecosystem of research and practice.

8. A call to converge

In an era of shrinking civic space and declining investment in gender equality, global collaboration remains essential.

Converging in the South is both practical and principled. It improves access, strengthens regional leadership, and challenges entrenched patterns of power in knowledge production.

SVRI Forum 2026 will bring together researchers, practitioners, funders, and policymakers to share evidence, test ideas, and build partnerships for action. The Forum will continue to evolve as a living example of how convening can be inclusive, rigorous, and sustainable.

The future of our field will not be written in isolation. It will be shaped through collective effort in spaces that are open, equitable, and representative of the majority world.

About the authors

Elizabeth Dartnall is the Executive Director of the Sexual Violence Research Initiative. With over 25 years of experience in global health, mental health, and violence prevention, she leads global efforts to advance feminist, ethical, and evidence-based approaches to ending violence against women and violence against children.

Lizle Loots is the SVRI Forum and Partnerships Lead at the Sexual Violence Research Initiative. With over 17 years of experience in the development sector, her work focuses on creating equitable, feminist spaces for knowledge sharing and learning across regions to advance the global response to violence against women and violence against children.

References

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