Pre-conference workshops are a core feature of SVRI Forum, offering dedicated space for learning, practical skills building, and meaningful exchange. These three-hour, highly interactive sessions allow participants to explore evidence-based tools, promising practices, and emerging approaches in the field.
Date: All workshops take place on Monday, 5 October 2026, the day before the main Forum begins.
Session times: Morning session: 09:00 – 12:00 | Afternoon session: 14:00 – 17:00
Participants may register for one workshop per time slot only.
Cost: Workshops carry a fee of $45 and must be paid for separately from the main conference registration.
How to register: You will be able to select and pay for workshops during the general conference registration process.
Make sure to secure your place early, as spaces are limited and in high demand.
Morning Pre-conference Workshops (09:00 - 12:00)
Facilitators: Dr Jessica Ison, Prof Leesa Hooker, Felicity Young, Dr Innocent Mwatsiya, and Dr Sarah Vrankovich, Reducing Gender-Based Violence Research Group, La Trobe University.
This workshop is designed to introduce participants to evaluations using realist methodology for sexual violence prevention programmes. Realist evaluation is a theory-driven approach that seeks to understand not just whether an intervention works, but how, why, for whom, and under what circumstances. This is particularly important in the field of sexual violence prevention, where programmes are often complex, context-dependent, and implemented across diverse communities. The workshop will begin by introducing the principles and rationale behind realist evaluation, including its focus on developing and testing context-mechanism-outcome (CMO) configurations. Participants will learn how realist approaches differ from traditional evaluation methods and why they are especially suited to evaluating interventions that aim to shift social norms, address structural inequalities, and promote behavioural change. We will use case studies from our current realist evaluations of nine Australian sexual violence prevention interventions.
Facilitators: Alessandra Guedes, UNICEF Innocenti, Christine Kolbe Stuart, UNICEF Child Protection, Kate Doyle, Prevention Collaborative, Consuelo Laso / Soumya Brata Guha, Plan International, and Rebecca Smith / Krista Bywater, Save the Children, Moa Schafer, UNICEF UK.
This interactive workshop co-hosted by UNICEF, Save the Children, and Plan International, will explore evidence on the intersections of violence against children and violence against women. Participants will exchange practical strategies for how child-focused organizations can help prevent violence against women and children, mitigate its impact on children, and better support the specific needs of both women and child survivors/victims. The session will share promising practices, support peer exchange and learning, and identify concrete actions to strengthen protection systems and improve outcomes for children and their caregivers.
Facilitators: Emily Eldred, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Sarah Meyer, World Health Organization, Jane Ndungu, University of Exeter, Faustine Bwire Masath, University of Dar es Salaam, and Sara Rotenberg, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
This workshop explores how to meaningfully include women and children with disabilities in VAW and VAC research, recognising both shared principles and key differences in ethical and practical considerations. Participants will engage with a new WHO-developed checklist for disability-inclusive VAW research and a draft framework for VAC inclusion, using real-world examples and interactive groupwork to apply these tools. The session offers a space to reflect on context-specific challenges, identify feasible entry points for inclusion, and contribute to the development of a refined framework for disability-inclusive VAC research. Ideal for researchers, practitioners, and funders committed to more inclusive evidence-building.
Facilitators: Jean Elphick, Terre des Hommes Netherlands, and Joan Njagi, SVRI.
This interactiveworkshop builds on SVRI’s free Power of Participation online course and highlights key concepts, practical tools, and ethical considerations for engaging children and youth in CSV research. Through a mix of theoretical framing, real-world case studies, and participatory exercises, the session offers an entry point into ethical and trauma-informed approaches to child and youth participation in research. The session will feature experiential learning to explore key participatory principles such as power-sharing, safeguarding, and co-creating research with young people, while also developing a clearer understanding of how to effectively integrate these principles throughout all research stages, including design, data collection, analysis, and dissemination.
Facilitators: Laura Somoggi, Womanity, Rebecka Lundgren, University of California, San Diego, Alice Kerr Wilson, What Works to prevent VAWG: Impact at Scale, Dorah Kiconco Musinguzi, Raising Voices, and Ritha Nyiratunga, Prevention Collaborative.
This interactive workshop brings together decades of experience from five global organisations to explore the art and science of adapting VAWG programmes. Designed for practitioners, researchers, and funders, the session will share core principles of successful adaptation, practical frameworks, and common challenges, alongside strategies to address them. With a focus on equitable partnerships, sustainability, and the realities of shrinking funding and growing backlash, this workshop creates space for collective learning and real-world problem-solving. Participants are encouraged to bring their own adaptation challenges for open exchange and collaborative solution-building.
Facilitators: Suzanne Kidenda, Maram Haddad, Lindsey Green, and Thomas McHale, Physicians for Human Rights.
This interactive workshop will provide practical strategies for using research and programmatic evidence to influence policy change and scale innovations in SGBV response systems. Drawing on Physicians for Human Rights’ global work, including in Iraq, Ukraine, Kenya, Ethiopia, and the DRC, the session will highlight real-world examples of evidence driving reform, especially in violence against children response. Participants will explore case studies on national scaling of survivor-centered tools, integration of SGBV training in health curricula, and the use of technology for documentation and accountability. Through guided discussions and hands-on exercises, the workshop will offer actionable guidance on stakeholder engagement, survivor-centered advocacy, and regionally coordinated models for sustainable impact.
Facilitators: Kehinde Ojo, Varsha Gywali, Elizabeth Anderson, Freedom Fund and partners.
This workshop explores how to centre survivor voices in research on violence while avoiding common pitfalls like retraumatisation, tokenism, and power imbalances. Drawing on field experience from the Freedom Fund’s global work to prevent modern slavery, it offers practical tools and approaches for conducting trauma-informed, survivor-led research. Participants will gain guidance on ethical consent processes, language to use in survivor-informed studies, and ways to engage collaboratively with survivor-led organisations. Designed for researchers and practitioners working with survivors – including those addressing issues linked to exploitation and coercion – the session provides a safe and thoughtful space to reflect, learn, and build survivor-centred research practices that prioritise well-being and justice.
Facilitator: Kristin Diemer and Cathy Vaughan, University of Melbourne, Jessica Gardner, Sujata Tuladhar, and Alexandra Robinson, UNFPA.
Join the kNOwVAWdata pre-conference workshop for an intensive session designed to equip participants with cutting-edge knowledge and practical skills in analyzing and utilizing violence against women (VAW) prevalence data. This highly sought-after workshop, a consistently valued part of the SVRI Forum agenda, now integrates our latest experiences from prevalence measurement across Asia and the Pacific. This workshop will focus specifically on risk factor analyses – a powerful tool for unlocking deeper insights from prevalence surveys. You’ll learn how to identify key drivers of violence and translate these complex analytical findings into concrete, evidence-based prevention programs and strategic response interventions. Our goal is to empower you to enhance the effectiveness of VAW initiatives in your region, drawing on real-world examples and lessons learned.
Facilitators: Nicola Jones, Kate Pincock, Silvia Guglielmi, GAGE at ODI, Bassam Abu Hamad, Al Quds University, Workneh Yadete, Quest Consulting & GAGE.
This workshop focuses on strengthening research methods to better capture the complexity of violence affecting adolescent girls in humanitarian settings. Drawing on a decade of learning from the Gender and Adolescence Global Evidence (GAGE) programme, facilitators will share tools and experiences from conflict-affected contexts across East and West Africa, the MENA region, and South Asia. Participants will explore innovative, culturally grounded methods, such as community timelines, social network hexagons, adolescent-led scenarios, and intergenerational interviews, that help illuminate the lived realities of adolescent girls, particularly those who are multiply marginalised. The session will equip attendees with practical skills to select, adapt, and ethically implement tools that generate nuanced evidence, with the aim of informing scalable, context-responsive interventions to prevent and respond to gender-based violence.
Facilitators: Felicity Mulford Research Manager, Centre for Information Resilience, Adyam Solomon, Elibat Ethiopia (and CIR-TikTok engagements), Duduzile Mkize, TikTok.
This roundtable-style workshop brings together a multidisciplinary group of researchers, practitioner TFGBV. Hosted at the world’s largest forum on sexual violence, the session draws on field experience – including a case study on CIR’s collaboration with TikTok in Ethiopia – to unpack the intersections of gender, identity, and misinformation in digital harm. Participants will explore platform accountability models, ethical research methods, and approaches to multi-stakeholder collaboration through facilitated discussions and small-group breakouts. Designed for a global audience, this workshop fosters peer learning, sparks new partnerships, and supports the development of evidence-based, cross-sectoral responses to TFGBV.
Facilitators: Claudia García-Moreno and LynnMarie Sardinha, World Health Organization, Ellen-Bates Jeffreys, Yale University.
Research on violence against women (VAW) involves complex ethical and methodological challenges, particularly when using remote or virtual methods. While these approaches offer practical benefits, they also raise critical concerns around privacy, consent, and safety. This workshop explores strategies for conducting safe, ethical VAW research, drawing on the newly updated WHO guidelines, Putting Women First. Participants will gain practical guidance on designing and implementing ethically sound research in both in-person and remote contexts.
Facilitators: Richa Sharma-Dhamorikar, Transforming Communities for Inclusion (TCI Global), Tia Nelis, Listen Include Respect Consultant, Inclusion International, Alana Carvalho, Women Enabled International.
This interactive workshop addresses the urgent need for inclusive, disability-aware research within gender-based violence fields. Aimed at equipping researchers with practical tools and frameworks, the session explores how to meaningfully involve women and gender-diverse persons with disabilities – especially those with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities – as both participants and co-creators of research. Through presentations, case studies, and group exercises, participants will reflect on ethics, accessibility, and power dynamics, and leave with concrete strategies for embedding inclusive, participatory practices into their own research.
Afternoon Pre-conference Workshops (14:00 - 17:00)
Facilitators: Shalini Roy, International Food Policy Research Institute, Tia Palermo, Policy Research Solutions (PRESTO) and State University of New York at Buffalo, Amber Peterman, UNICEF Evaluation Office, Meghna Ranganathan, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Lori Heise, Prevention Collaborative and John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
This workshop highlights evidence and implementation strategies across a diverse range of anti-poverty strategies linked to violence prevention – including cash transfers and social protection, interventions to promote labor force participation and employment, micro-finance and savings, and programming to strengthen property rights and assets. Its overall goal is to provide researchers and practitioners an overview of the theory, evidence, knowledge gaps, and practical application around each type of programming and its link to violence against women and children to strengthen participants’ ability to discover new innovations, fill research gaps, and effectively translate evidence into programming and policy. The workshop will draw on recent reviews and primary research conducted by members of the Cash Transfer and Intimate Partner Violence Research Collaborative.
Facilitators: Nadine Krish-Spencer and Chayn Jan Moolman, Numun Fund, Caroline Masboungi, UNICEF, Karina Rios Michel, Girl Effect GRIT – Gender Rights in Tech.
This interactive, capacity-building session is tailored for local women-led organisations and civil society actors working to prevent and respond to violence against women and violence against children. It aims to equip participants with the knowledge, tools, and confidence to engage in tech-related decision-making and advocacy. Topics include AI in humanitarian contexts, digital safety and self-defense, online gender-based violence, data justice, and the design of survivor-centred digital tools.
Facilitators: Global Women’s Institute and What Works to Prevent Violence: Impact at Scale Programme (facilitators TBC).
This workshop will introduce participants to key considerations in measuring VAWG – with an emphasis on quantitative survey methodologies. Key international tools in the field (e.g. the WHO multi-country study, ICAST, etc.) will be explored. The facilitators will share examples of the approaches utilized by the What Works to Prevent Violence Programme – including lessons learned adapting and contextualizing these international violence measurement tools to local contexts. We will share what tools have worked well as well as where challenges have been encountered. Participants will work together to consider how they would identify, test and contextualize international violence measures to their own context and leave having a good understanding of key considerations for measuring VAW and VAC measures in their own work.
Facilitators: Romina Buffarini and Carolina Coll, Federal University of Pelotas, Daniel Carter, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Anja Zinke-Allmang and Rebecca Akunzirwe, University of Oxford.
This workshop brings together global researchers to explore innovative methods for measuring how social, political, and economic contexts influence violence against women and violence against children. Using cohort data, participants will learn to develop and apply contextual measures at the neighbourhood, school, household, and geospatial levels. Through presentations, discussions, and applied exercises, the workshop will strengthen participants’ skills in incorporating contextual analysis into violence research and evaluation, with a critical lens on methodological strengths and limitations. The session draws on work from the NETVAC network of qualitative VAC researchers and includes examples from both the Global South and North.
Facilitators: Sophie Hindes, Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS), Jessica Ison, La Trobe University, Bianca Fileborn, School of Social & Political Sciences, University of Melbourne.
Despite growing interest, research on LGBTQ+ experiences of sexual violence remains methodologically limited and underdeveloped. This workshop responds to these gaps by offering a critical overview of the current research landscape and its shortcomings, based on recent global scoping reviews. Participants will co-develop best practice principles for conducting inclusive, ethical research with LGBTQ+ communities across diverse socio-cultural contexts. Through collaborative exercises and small group work, attendees will apply these principles to refine their own research protocols and strengthen LGBTQ+ inclusion in their work.
Facilitators: Tvisha Nevatia, Raising Voices, Tina Musuya, What Works to Prevent Violence: Impact at Scale, Shruti Majumdar, UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, Arti Mohan, SVRI / Safe Futures Hub, Gemma Wood, Independent Consultant.
In a context of global backlash, shrinking civic space, and deep funding cuts, feminist organisations are turning to practice-based learning and knowledge (PBL/K) as a powerful tool for resistance, reorganisation, and survival. This participatory workshop will explore how PBL/K can protect space, shift narratives, and build solidarity. Through collective reflection, storytelling, and group dialogue, participants will examine how feminist knowledge practices are sustaining movements and shaping new partnerships in crisis. The session will build on earlier Forum discussions and end with provocations to guide ongoing action and learning.
Facilitators: Melissa Alvarado, Regional Programme Manager on EVAW, UN Women ROAP, Sujata Tuladhar, GBV Technical Advisor, UNFPA APRO, Dr. Pritha Chatterjee , Breakthrough, Amrita Dasgupta, CEO, Swayam (as member of Asia Network to End GBV), Suniti Neogy, What Works to Prevent VAWG: Impact at Scale.
Co-hosted by UN Women and UNFPA under the UN Joint Programme on GBV Prevention in Southeast Asia, this workshop explores how to design, adapt, and sustain effective gender-based violence prevention in low- and middle-income settings. Developed in collaboration with Breakthrough, the Asia Network to End GBV, and What Works to Prevent VAWG, the session centres grassroots leadership and feminist, community-led approaches grounded in behavioural science and the RESPECT framework. Participants will engage in peer dialogue, small group work, and collective reflection, hearing directly from practitioners across South and Southeast Asia. The workshop offers tools, lessons, and insights for adapting and scaling prevention efforts, and aims to foster cross-regional collaboration and strengthen practitioner networks globally.
Facilitator: Emmanuela Gakidou and Luisa Sorio Flor, University of Washington.
This hands-on workshop will introduce participants to the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study and equip them with skills to use its tools to measure and interpret the health impacts of IPV and VAC. Participants will explore interactive data visualizations, identify gaps, and apply GBD insights to develop policy briefs, advocacy strategies, and research priorities tailored to their contexts. The session emphasises participatory, ethical approaches to ensure relevance and responsible use of data, and aims to build a global community of practice around evidence-informed GBV prevention and response.
Facilitators: Rachel Jewkes, Naeemah Abrahams, Nwabisa Shai, Leane Ramsoomar, and Asiphe Ketelo South African Medical Research Council.
This workshop aims to strengthen efforts to measure the scale and impact of violence against women through primary data collection on femicide. Drawing on South Africa’s globally recognised experience of over 25 years of national intimate femicide surveillance, the session will explore practical methods for conducting femicide research in contexts lacking strong administrative data systems. Participants will learn from South Africa’s experience in using data to inform a national femicide prevention strategy, examine what is required to adapt and replicate these methods in other low and middle-income countries, and discuss how qualitative and complementary data can enhance understanding of femicide where population-based studies are not currently feasible.
Facilitators: Genevieve Haupt Ronnie, University of Cape Town, Isang Awah, University of Oxford, Lauren Baerecke, University of Cape Town, Joyce Wamoyi, National Institute for Medical Research.
Parenting programmes are increasingly recognised as effective tools to prevent sexual violence and other forms of family violence. Yet, integration of sexual violence prevention within these programmes, especially at scale, remains limited. Jointly organised by the Global Parenting Initiative, Parenting for Lifelong Health, the AccelerateHub, and Tanzania’s National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), this workshop will explore how evidence-based parenting interventions can be adapted and scaled to address sexual violence more directly. Drawing on multi-country research and implementation experiences, participants will engage with practical examples from Tanzania, South Africa, and the Philippines – such as the ParentApp for Teens – and reflect on key enablers, challenges, and opportunities to expand prevention efforts in their own contexts.
Facilitators: LynnMarie Sardinha, World Health Organization, Sarah Bott, Independent Consultant, and partners (TBC).
While global progress has been made in measuring physical and sexual intimate partner violence, significant challenges remain in developing standardised, cross-cultural tools for assessing psychological IPV and non-partner sexual violence. These gaps contribute to underestimation and limit international comparability, including for global monitoring and SDG reporting. This workshop, drawing on WHO and partners’ recent methodological work, will introduce current practices and explore key challenges in measuring and reporting these forms of violence. Participants will engage in guided discussions and group work to reflect on how to strengthen measurement in their own research and contribute to improved data collection and analysis globally.