Our Vision
We envision a world free of violence against women, violence against children, and other forms of violence stemming from gender inequality.
Our Mission
We are committed to increasing and strengthening action-oriented research and its uptake to improve and expand efforts to prevent and respond to violence against women and violence against children globally.
SVRI Principles
Kindness and trauma-Informed
By being trauma-informed we acknowledge that researching and working on violence can at times be stressful, challenging, and traumatic, and that this trauma is impacted by the varied lived and diverse experiences we bring to our work. We commit to promoting resilience by putting care, kindness, compassion, and empathy at the heart of all we do. In so doing, we are working to nurture and grow a supportive and sustainable field.
Feminist and women-centred
The SVRI promotes research that is collaborative and non-hierarchical; works across fields and is inclusive; explores and challenges power imbalances that exist both in research and in society; is intersectional and provides new knowledge grounded in the diverse realities of women and children; strives to achieve structural and lasting, and therefore, transformative change.
Rights-based
The SVRI recognises that violence against women and violence against children are human-rights violations and promotes work that seeks to give women and children agency, and respects and promotes their human rights. Research on violence against women and violence against children should recognise the unequal power relations between men and women and adults and children, based on, and resulting from, social and structural constructions of gender and sexuality.
Ethical
The SVRI insists that all research on violence against women and violence against children is conducted in accordance with the highest ethical and safety standards. All SVRI programmes and documents are executed and disseminated with ethical standards in mind. All SVRI stakeholders are expected to always adhere to the highest ethical standards in both our personal and professional spheres. All SVRI supported research must receive ethical approval.
Equitable
The SVRI is committed to amplifying diverse voices from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including researchers, survivors, and marginalised groups in the field. The SVRI promotes the leadership of LMIC-based researchers and aims to build the capacity of researchers and research institutions in LMICs. We strive to balance research resources and power between high, and low- and middle-income countries (as well as resources and levels of power within countries and contexts where evidence is generated).
Accountable
The SVRI is accountable to survivors and those impacted the most by power inequalities in research processes and the application of research findings.
Innovative
The SVRI promotes new ideas, new methodologies, and new partnerships. The SVRI believes policymaking and practice should integrate the best available evidence from a wide range of sources.
Collaborative
The SVRI encourages and is committed to assisting diverse actors to support each other on interconnected issues. We encourage dialogue and equitable partnerships both within and across projects. The building of equitable partnerships across disciplines, geographic regions, and income levels is integral to our goals and values as an organisation.
Our Code of Conduct
The SVRI’s Code of Conduct outlines standards of behaviour and practice for all SVRI staff, Board members, Leadership Council members, consultants, volunteers, partners, grant recipients and SVRI membership (from here on referred to as “stakeholders”) to ensure together we:
- Promote and work to deliver on the SVRI’s vision and mission and do so in accordance with the SVRI’s principles;
- Maintain the highest standards of ethics, governance, integrity, and accountability;
- Create a feminist network that embraces learning, promotes gender equity, partnership, diversity and kindness and fosters trust; and,
- Provide assurance that the SVRI is ethical, reliable, transparent, and accountable in all that we do.
SVRI stakeholders commit to:
- Respecting and promoting human rights in accordance with international human rights conventions and humanitarian law, especially related to women’s rights, child rights, gender equity and social justice.
- Ensuring safeguards and measures are in place to prevent exploitation, harassment, bullying and abuse from taking place within the organisation and within the research and other projects we support; and where such problems have occurred, to respond in an ethical and accountable way.
- Respecting that every human being has unique value and potential, and not discriminating based on origin, ethnicity, culture, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, values, beliefs, politics, religion, race, socio-economic status, health status, educational status, nor any other factors.
- Supporting and empowering peers with knowledge and skills, and openness to learn from others.
- Safeguarding children and young people against all forms of violence including physical and humiliating punishments in all settings.
- Being responsive and accountable to the needs of the individuals and communities we work with across the globe especially those who are vulnerable and affected by marginalisation and exclusion.
- Acting in a manner that will not bring the reputation of the SVRI into disrepute or otherwise jeopardise our standing.
- Always acting with integrity and holding one another accountable.
- Putting kindness and empathy at the heart of all we do.
- Promoting a sense of belonging, purpose, and connection within our network.
- Engaging in self-reflection about power, internalised oppression, unconscious biases, and other dimensions of personal growth, and to cultivate self and collective care and healing.
Stakeholders commit to supporting and undertaking research and practice that:
- Applies feminist and trauma-informed principles and partnerships.
- Adheres to international safety and ethical guidelines.
- Strives for innovation in ideas, methodologies and partnerships, while building on evidence.
- Endeavours to be collaborative, cross-sectoral and multi-disciplinary.
- Promotes equitable participation, empowers, and amplifies diverse voices from low- and middle-income countries (researchers, practitioners, survivors, marginalised groups) to the field.
- Challenges the gender and power hierarchy, as well as other social hierarchies fueling violence against women and violence against children to promote gender equity and an end to violence.
- Strives to inform policy, programmes, services, and future research, and serves to strengthen access to comprehensive care and support for survivors as well as prevent violence against children and violence against women.
SVRI stakeholders commit to the following approaches to our work:
Continuous monitoring, evaluation, and learning
- We outline clear strategic goals for our work.
- We analyse and understand the contexts in which we work.
- We invest in quality assessment and evaluation of our work.
- We reflect on, share, and apply results and lessons with stakeholders.
Feminist and trauma-informed partnerships
- We consider the circumstances and concerns of the partners and stakeholders when making decisions that affect them.
- We respect and understand those with whom we collaborate.
- We have a shared understanding of respective contributions, expectations, responsibilities and accountabilities of all parties.
- We invest in the effectiveness of our collaborations and partnerships.
- We work with organisations that adhere to similar principles and values as the SVRI.
- We build equitable, feminist partnerships.
- We embrace diversity and intersectionality.
- We commit to being courageous and bringing people together both to celebrate and amplify the work and, when needed, to have hard conversations with open hearts and integrity.
Clear, effective communication
- We are truthful and transparent in our communications.
- We collect and use information ethically and transparently, ensuring informed consent and the right to revoke consent.
The SVRI commits to ensuring trustworthy governance and adequate resource management for our work:
- We act in accordance with the SVRI as a not-for-profit and formed for a defined public benefit.
- We meet our legal and compliance obligations.
- We are accountable to our stakeholders.
- We openly and timeously disclose any conflict of interest where our various personal, professional, or political roles or associations are incompatible with the interests and values of the SVRI.
- We have responsible and independent governance mechanisms and are accountable to these.
- We source our resources ethically.
- We ensure that funds and resources entrusted to us are properly controlled and managed.
- We ensure that we have the human resource capacity and capability to deliver our work.
