Co-design framework for research with victim survivors

Australian Framework for the ethical co-production of research with victim survivors

The Safer Families Centre and WEAVERS lived experience group are proud to release a new Australian Framework for ethical co-production of research with victim survivors of intimate partner and sexual violence. 

There has been increasing interest in exploring more participatory and co-produced research with victim survivors of intimate partner and sexual violence, however there has been little guidance publicly available to support this work within Australia or internationally. In order to address this gap, the University of Melbourne and World Health Organisation have supported the development of a Framework in an Australian context, which will form the basis for consultation in a broad range of regions internationally.

The Framework provides best practice principles and a set of resources to support researchers and victim survivors wanting to engage in co-produced research about intimate partner and sexual violence. It draws upon relevant existing guidelines and literature as well as previous work and experiences of the WEAVERs and University researchers who have been engaging in co-produced research together since 2016.

The Framework draft was developed by Lula Dembele, Fiona and Nina who are victim survivor co-researchers from the University’s WEAVERs group  and Katie Lamb and Kelsey Hegarty from the University of Melbourne's Safer Families Centre. The project was jointly funded by the World Health Organisation and the University of Melbourne.

For more information or to discuss the Framework, please contact Katie Lamb klamb1@unimelb.edu.au