Study Values

As a team, we acknowledge the gaps and harms that research can produce and believe that we must resist scientific approaches that do not recognize trauma. We are committed to the following set of values as one way of challenging and improving the current standards of safety and equity for survivor-based research. Our approach aims to honor harmed-peoples’ brilliance and seeks to create a better understanding of the issues we study by promoting collective engagement, building trusting relationships and respecting the agency and power of those most impacted. We believe that these approaches result in more accurate data and will decrease research experiences that mimic other forms of institutional injustice and violence.

See below for a short review of our research approach and click here for the full set of values that guide our work!

We commit to a project that is…

  • We believe that our scientific methods, academic training, internal structures and research practices must be survivor-informed/survivor-led for the work to be high-quality and valuable to the community most impacted by sexual violence. We believe that survivor-informed science leads to rigorous data, better findings, more effective policies, and implementation designs that support survivors first. We are committed to a framework that values, trusts, celebrates and treats survivor-expertise as equal to any other form of knowing.

  • We believe in collective rising principles and commit to everyone having the opportunity to be compensated for their wisdom, either through financial means or with the sharing of resources. We acknowledge that thinking of compensation as strictly monetary limits us to capitalistic ideas of labor. We will create space for a wide range of what “opportunity” looks likes on this project and that those with the least power will be able to make the best decisions about compensation for themselves.

  • We acknowledge that research on sexual violence has traditionally left out people because of their race, class, gender, dis/ability, sex work experience, immigration status, sexuality, and/or previous incarceration experiences, etc. We acknowledge that each participant is valuable because of all their identities and experiences. We believe that there is more than one way of knowing and learning. As such, we will adapt the project as needed, and aspire to include as many voices as we can.

  • We acknowledge that discussing sexual violence comes with both tangible and emotional risks. We prioritize your safety over data collection and will consider safety needs at every stage of the project. We will respond to safety needs quickly, and encourage you to take breaks and stop early, if necessary. We will provide support resources and be honest about what type of information will be disclosed and written about so that you feel informed enough to make the best safety decisions for yourself.

  • Emotionally-engaged research acknowledges that work on sexual violence has often left out the emotion of these experiences. We/I believe that valuing emotions and connection does not reduce rigor or bias analysis, but instead, is required for a deeper and fuller understanding of sexual violence. Therefore, we approach research through the three C’s of caring: caring for research participants, caring for our team, and caring about what happens to the study.

  • We want to make space for the reality of complicated lives and for this to be convenient. We will meet with you when it works for your schedule. It is not a problem if you need breaks, need to reschedule, or need an adjustment. We will work together to find solutions and will try to modify what we can to respond to your unique situation. We commit to working from a kind and non-shaming place when adjustments need to happen and ask that you see us with the same patient mindset. We’re all just doing the best we can!.

  • We will be clear about project goals, funding, research requirements, compensation, roles and responsibilities, and privacy data so that there are no surprises and you can make the decision that is right for you. We will be honest and take responsibility for situations that could have had a better approach/response and will be committed to difficult conversations and action when necessary.

  • The entire project is guided by a trauma-informed lens (safety; peer support; trustworthiness; collaboration; empowerment/voice/choice; cultural, historical, and gendered thinking). We acknowledge a responsibility to minimize the possibility of re-traumatization and will plan responses for keeping participants and the study team safe if/when triggers do happen. We commit to building a TIR approach into all aspects of a research study.

    To read more about trauma-informed research, see the full list of values here.