Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI)

I am still filled with gratitude from last week's Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) Forum #SVRIForum24. Together with African Women's Development Fund (AWDF) staff Jodi Williams Asaa Gyebi-Adjei Chaïmae Ribani and Tarisai Nyamweda we connected and learnt from and with amazing researchers, activists, survivors & funders across continents. I have since been left thinking..... In rooms filled with big-profile non-profits and a complex co-existence of global North and South hierarchies, what do truly decolonial convening spaces look like? I reflect on this in my post #SVRIForum24 blog https://lnkd.in/eHysAeES I invite us to connect with 'Nandi', an identity depicted by the leadership and passion of Pam Ntshekula, an activist with the Sex Workers Education & Advocacy Taskforce #SWEAT. Many at the forum's Opening Gala had the honour to connect with Pam (and others), who despite not being listed performers took up the stage and shifted the centre of visibility. The blog challenges us to think about the ways coloniality and discrimination find their way into convening spaces intended to be feminist and inclusive and offers some actions for conveners and funders seeking to disrupt and transform these power hierarchies. Shout out to Pam Ntshekula and the #SWEAT team; and to Elizabeth Dartnall, Lizle Loots Jodi Williams and Nana Zulu for your great input. Bridget Steffen thanks for the wisdom you shared in our coincidental 'bare feet walks' to and from the sessions. And to Marissa Pledger and Mariangela Bizzarri Jody Myrum for enriching the "Movements" session. In solidarity.

🚀 “We are right now at the cusp of a different revolution, of knowledge, of communication, of access. And as feminists, where do you want to be?”, asks jac sm kee on a new episode of the SVRI Podcast recorded live at the SVRI Forum 2024. This feminist activist, writer and researcher from Malaysia, whose work largely focuses on the role of technology in gender-based violence, aims to challenge “very stubborn power structures” that are “causing a lot of discrimination, oppression, disparity”. She has started to do so through the Numun Fund, an initiative that supports a thriving ecosystem of feminist activists to define, imagine and shape technology for the world we need. 🎧 Listen to the full podcast to know more about Jac's journey: spoti.fi/3YJHY9O

📢 The SVRI Faith & GBV Community of Practice (CoP) is hosting an exciting virtual event on decolonizing evidence to prevent GBV in faith communities. Through engaging discussions with experts, we will explore the meaning of decolonial approaches to evidence and assess their relevance, particularly in the context of the Global South. This event is open to everyone, whether you are a member of the CoP or not. Join us! 📅 Date: November 14th, 2024 ⏰ Time: 4pm SAST ➡️ Register now: https://lnkd.in/eqJKQSGv ➡️ Find more information about the CoP and how to become a member: https://lnkd.in/dYMfb9iq #Faith&GBV #EndViolence #GenderBasedViolence #Webinar #ResearchforImpact #DecolonisingResearch

⚠️ 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 7 boys will experience some form of sexual violence before their 18th birthday. This means that every second, three girls and two boys experience childhood sexual violence. 💔 The numbers are heartbreaking, but the good news is that childhood sexual violence is preventable. Evidence-based approaches like the #SafeFuturesHub, INSPIRE, and The Model National Response offer solutions to keep children safe. 💫 SVRI joins Together for Girls and Brave Movement to #BreakTheRecord of inaction and #EndChildhoodSexualViolence. 💡 Learn more from an informative booklet featuring world-first data, a practical framework, and a series of actionable steps individuals and policymakers can take to contribute to ending sexual violence, for good. ➡️ https://lnkd.in/dDQ4GVYw #EndViolence #ChildSexualViolence #ViolenceIsPreventable #TogetherForGirls #KeepKidsSafe #EveryChildProtected

📢 Join Us for a Conversation on Building Evidence to Prevent GBV in Faith Communities! 🌍 The Working Group on Evidence Building of Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) Faith & GBV Community of Practice invite you to the online event "Decolonising Evidence? Practical Approaches to Faith and GBV Prevention." We’ll discuss the role of decolonial approaches to evidence in preventing gender-based violence (GBV), particularly in the Global South. 🗓 Date: November 14th, 2024 ⏰ Time: 15:00 UTC Open to everyone! Whether you’re a member or interested in learning more, we welcome you to join. 👉 Register here: https://lnkd.in/dDvbwyer For more information on the SVRI Faith & GBV Community of Practice, visit the SVRI Faith & GBV CoP: https://lnkd.in/d4Mwe3af ------Français 📢 Rejoignez-nous pour une discussion sur la construction de preuves pour prévenir les violences basées sur le genre dans les communautés de foi!🌍 Le Groupe de Travail sur la Construction de Preuves de la Communauté de Pratique SVRI sur la Foi et les VBG vous invitent à l'événement en ligne Décoloniser les preuves ? Approches pratiques pour la foi et la prévention des VBG. Nous discuterons de l'importance des approches décoloniales pour prévenir les violences basées sur le genre (VBG), surtout dans le Sud global. 🗓 Date : 14 novembre 2024 ⏰ Heure : 15h00 UTC Ouvert à tous ! Membres ou nouveaux venus, vous êtes les bienvenus. 👉 Inscrivez-vous ici : https://lnkd.in/dDvbwyer Pour plus d'informations sur la Communauté de Pratique SVRI sur la Foi et les VBG, visitez SVRI Foi & VBG CoP: https://lnkd.in/d4Mwe3af ------ Español 📢 ¡Únete a una conversación sobre la construcción de evidencia para prevenir la violencia de género en comunidades de fe! 🌍 El Grupo de Trabajo sobre Construcción de Evidencia de la Comunidad de Práctica de Fe y VBG de SVRI te invitan al evento en línea ¿Descolonizar la evidencia? Enfoques prácticos para la fe y la prevención de VBG. Hablaremos sobre la importancia de los enfoques descoloniales para prevenir la violencia de género (VBG), especialmente en el Sur Global. 🗓 Fecha: 14 de noviembre de 2024 ⏰ Hora: 15:00 UTC ¡Abierto a todxs! Todxs son bienvenidxs, sean miembros o interesadxs. 👉 Regístrate aquí: https://lnkd.in/dDvbwyer Para más información sobre la Comunidad de Práctica de Fe y VBG de SVRI, visita SVRI Fe & VBG CoP: https://lnkd.in/d4Mwe3af

🌐 Leading up to the First Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence against Children held in Bogotá, Colombia, on 7-8 November 2024, the UN Girls' Education Initiative (UNGEI) is inviting organizations and individuals from around the world to join an open letter, calling upon states to take urgent action to prevent and respond to sexual violence in educational settings. UNGEI will present the letter at the conference, in which ministerial delegations – along with children, young people, survivors and civil society allies – will meet for the very first time in history to find common solutions, drive policy change, and establish state commitments to end violence against children. ✊🚫 Because childhood sexual violence is preventable! ➡️ Sign the open letter: https://ow.ly/tfYx50U08aL #ProtectChildren #EndViolenceAgainstChildren #UNGEI #GlobalActionForChildren #EducationForAll #EndChildAbuse

📢 Do you recall the powerful words of activists Kolbassia Haoussou MBE and jac sm kee in the first opening plenary of the #SVRIForum24? 🎧 Now we have both of them on the SVRI podcast in a new episode recorded live at the Forum in Cape Town. The two activists share their compelling life journeys that led them to fight for a world free of violence. Kolbassia is a torture survivor who experienced appalling and harmful conditions when fleeing persecution. His journey led him to become part of Freedom from Torture, where he now serves as Director of Survivor Leadership and Influencing. Jac is a feminist activist, writer and researcher from Malaysia, who started focusing on the role of technology in gender-based violence in the early 2000s when very few people did. Now she is a leading voice in this burgeoning field and co-founder of the Numun Fund. ➡️ Listen to the podcast: https://ow.ly/AFw650TZg20 Find all the episodes of the SVRI Podcast on Apple, Spotify, and at www.svri.org. #GenderBasedViolence #SurvivorVoices #TechnologyAndGender #Podcast #taketortureseriously #EndViolence

🌟 Thank you #SVRIForum2024 for an incredible event! We’re incredibly proud of our Center faculty, affiliates, alum, partners, scholars, and students. Together, we learned, we presented, we engaged deeply with the solidarity and community that #SVRIForum2024 is known for. Together, this field is strong and impactful. A special thank you to all who stopped by our booth to connect! Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI), Johns Hopkins Center for Global Women's Health & Gender Equity, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, The Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing

What a time at #SVRIForum24 - the largest global network dedicated to advancing research on violence against women, violence against children, and other forms of violence driven by gender inequality! ✨ My brain soaked too much information, ideas and even questioned the way we work! Overall, I am grateful to the beautiful colleagues I met and shared space with, and the many practitioners and researchers that shared their knowledge, findings and lived experiences in our collective efforts to end violence, especially for women and girls! 🤩 And hey, I was awarded the Runner Up - Best Practitioner Presentation, presenting our work to address child marriage and early adoption of FP under the USAID MOMENTUM project in Nigeria. My presentation focused on our work from 2021-2024, implementing a gender-transformative approach “Choices, Voices, and Promises (CVP) and Adolescents Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH)” developed by Save the Children International to promote gender equitable attitudes and practices among adolescents, while also working with their parents and the communities. “I am, because we are”. - In the spirit of Ubuntu we are One! - Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) #EndGBV #VAWG #Violenceagainstchildren #GenderEquality #FeministApproaches

🌍✨ Just returned from beautiful Cape Town, South Africa, where I had the honor of presenting at the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) Forum 2024. SVRI is the premier gathering for global research on violence against women, children, and those affected by gender-based violence. Connecting with old and new dedicated colleagues, partners, and advocates was truly unforgettable. Special shout out to collegues from Center on Gender Equity and Health at UC San Diego As part of the Double Jeopardy Team, I presented our qualitative study findings on the unique challenges faced by API student victim-survivors, co-led by my amazing collaborator Jianchao Lai, PhD, MSW, alongside our talented team members Jenny Lee, MPH, Grace Nguyen, Sabrina Dou, Allison Massey & Madi Logan. 🙏 A heartfelt thanks to Jennifer Wagman for making my participation possible, and to the SVRI and Global Campus Violence Prevention (GCVP) network for including the voices of the Asian diaspora in the U.S. context. 💪We are grateful for the funding support from AAPI Data, UCLA Asian American Studies Center, UCLA Racial and Social Justice Grant, & Center for Institutional Courage and solidarity with our partners like Survivors + Allies at UCLA and more. ☀️Key highlights: 💡Navigating Silence and Barriers: Understanding the impact of family collectivism, cultural complexities, and microaggressions on API student survivors’ experiences of sexual violence and harassment ✏️Authors: Jianchao Lai, PhD, MSW Eunhee Park Jenny Lee, MPH Grace Nguyen Sabrina Dou Allison Massey Madi Logan Jennifer Wagman 💡Girls Invest: Qualitative evaluation of a mobile-enabled economic empowerment intervention to reduce intimate partner violence among adolescent girls in Southern California ✏️Authors: Elizabeth Reed, Desaree Renaud, Guadalupe X Ayala, Ning Tang, Craig McIntosh, Alexandra Minnis 💡ARCHES in Kenya: Addressing reproductive coercion and intimate partner violence at scale with RCT results for national scaling ✏️Authors: Jay Silverman, Erin Pearson, Jasmine Uysal Jamie Menzel, George Odwe, Wilson Liambila, Jane Namwebya, Chi-Chi Undie 💡Date-Rape Drug Detection and Drink-Spiking Prevention: Assessing current methods and proposing new solutions ✏️Authors: Jiwon Park, Taehoon Kim, Namjoon Cho ☀️Special sessions I participated: 💡Co-Creating a Research Agenda to Address GBV in Higher Education Institutions hosted by International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) 💡Early Career Researchers and Research Giants Gathering hosted by Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) and GVR-CN (Gender Violence Research and Collaboration Network) thanks to amazing initiative led by Sabrina P. With new friendships formed—excited to continue work towards our shared mission toward a world free from gender-based violence. Here’s to continued collaboration and progress! #SVRI2024 #GenderEquality #ViolencePrevention #DoubleJeopardyTeam