UNICEF at the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) Forum 2022
19-23 September 2022
About the SVRI Forum
UNICEF is proud to collaborate with the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI), including for the implementation of the SVRI Forum and supporting UNICEF Gender and Development Manager, Alessandra Guedes, in her role as co-chair of the SVRI Leadership Council. The SVRI Forum is the largest global research conference on violence against women, and other forms of violence driven by gender inequality in low and middle-income countries. The conference provides a global space where delegates build knowledge, expand their network, collaborate, and share knowledge with key decision-makers in the field of violence against girls, boys and women. For more details, please visit the SVRI Forum 2022 website.
UNICEF @ the SVRI
As the largest research and advocacy conference in the field, the SVRI Forum will provide the space and opportunity for our 23 UNICEF delegates to come together to share and learn from committed activists, policymakers, researchers, funders and survivors. A range of seminars, workshops and activities will enable participants, including UNICEF colleagues, to learn about emerging evidence so that this knowledge can be applied within our programming to ensure the best outcomes for women and children. The UNICEF @ the SVRI agenda includes panels, presentations, side events and more where you will be able to find UNICEF representatives from across the world, presenting the latest findings from their work at this year's Forum. You can also find us at our UNICEF booth in the exhibition area of the SVRI Forum.
UNICEF works to end violence against children and violence against women
In response to mounting global evidence, UNICEF has been identifying concrete ways to strengthen and expand its violence prevention work to address the gender dimensions of violence, including a specific focus on intersections between violence against children (VAC), and violence against women (VAW). UNICEF's expansion beyond exclusively child-centred approaches to child protection is outlined in the Child Protection Strategy 2021-2030 and includes the prevention of violence against girls, boys and women as a thematic priority.
The groundwork for this approach was laid out in a discussion paper that synthesized evidence to argue for the use of a life-course and gender transformative approach in all of UNICEF's violence prevention efforts. The paper led to intense intra-agency collaboration and influenced a strategic shift in important UNICEF mandates, including the Child Protection Strategy - which now addresses violence against women for the first time - and UNICEF's new Strategic Plan 2022-25 and Gender Action Plan 2022-25, both of which include gender-based violence (GBV) as a cross-cutting issue.
Global research agenda on the intersections of violence against children and violence against women
As global evidence and interest in the intersections between violence against children and violence against women continue to grow, researchers and practitioners from the violence against children and violence against women fields are seeking ways to better collaborate and ensure the best outcomes for victims and survivors of both types of violence. To meet these needs and identify key evidence gaps, UNICEF partnered with the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI), to collaboratively develop a research agenda for the intersections of violence against children and violence against women. Key outcomes of the global research agenda will be discussed at the SVRI Forum on Friday, September 23rd from 10:30 to noon. Space is limited so please contact Floriza Gennari to RSVP (fgennari@unicef.org).