Violence Against Women and Violence Against Children
Violence against women and violence against children are major human rights and public health challenges. More than one in three women experience physical or sexual violence, while over one billion children experience emotional, physical or sexual violence. Despite the scale of this burden, evidence on violence and its consequences remains limited in many low-resource settings. Research, policy and health-system responses may also operate separately, making it difficult to understand the full health, social and economic effects of violence. The Centre is expanding its research to generate evidence that informs prevention, strengthens health system responses, and supports survivor-centred policies and services.
Working in partnership funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), we are collaborating with researchers, practitioners, and survivor partners to improve the understanding of the burden and impacts of gender-based violence and to ensure that research is informed by the lived experiences of survivors. This international research partnership is co-led by the University of Oxford and the University of Cape Town, in partnership with the Lancet Commission. Working across India, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa and Sri Lanka, the Group will co-produce trauma-informed research with survivors to strengthen evidence, improve prevention and build local research capacity.
Our interdisciplinary research program is structured across the following five dedicated, mutually reinforcing work packages designed to generate evidence, inform policy, and safeguard survivors:
- Strengthen survivor involvement in violence research
- Improve understanding of the health burden associated with violence
- Estimate the economic and social costs of inaction
- Identify interventions and policies that can prevent violence in different settings
- Expand knowledge exchange, research training and mentorship