Researching violence against women: a practical guide for researchers and activists

Now that international attention is focused on gender-based violence methodologically rigorous research is needed to guide the formulation and implementation of effective interventions policies and prevention strategies. Until fairly recently the majority of research on violence consisted of anecdotal accounts or exploratory studies performed on nonrepresentative samples of women such as those attending services for battered women. While this research has played a critical role in bringing to light the issues of wife abuse rape trafficking incest and other manifestations of gender-based violence it is less useful for understanding the dimensions or characteristics of abuse among the broader population. This manual has been developed in response to the growing need to improve the quality quantity and comparability of international data on physical and sexual abuse. It outlines some of the methodological and ethical challenges of conducting research on violence against women and describes a range of innovative techniques that have been used to address these challenges. We hope that the manual will be useful for those interested in pursuing research on violence especially in developing countries and other resource-poor settings. (excerpt)