Research

Our research arises from our experiential activities as well as from primary research and systematic / literature reviews. Most of our projects combine the different strands of our work: our peer-to-peer activities feed into research and policy work which informs our training and consultancy for organisations and professional bodies. 


 jpeg(3)The Charter For Engaging Abuse Survivors

In partnership with King’s College London, and with funding from the Wellcome Institutional Strategic Support Fund, we ran a uniquely survivor-generated and survivor-led piece of research with a group survivors. The group piloted a survey to gather views of people who have been abused, regarding their experiences of help seeking: what has helped/ hindered them in their journeys out of abuse and towards well-being/recovery. The research involved a process evaluation, seeking the survivors’ views on what it was like to run the research project and on the experience of participating as a ‘research subject’: how could we ensure this is safe, meaningful and effective? One outcome is  “From Pain into Power”, our Charter for Organisations Engaging Abuse Survivors in Projects, Research & Service Development.  This is now free to download on this website and is being piloted.

A copy of the report of the pilot survey can be found here.


The Survivors Involvement in Research Ladder

This is a new tool that has been produced by Survivors’ Voices in collaboration with Simone Kennedy, as part of her MSc in Public Health degree at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

The Ladder is designed to measure and evaluate the quality of survivor involvement in research about survivors. Building on the work of our Charter, it is currently in its pilot phase and we are gathering feedback to evaluate and maximise the Ladder’s effectiveness in creating research that is genuinely co-produced with people who have experienced  abuse. It’s free to download from here and we are keen to hear about how you use it.


jpeg(4)Survivors’ Voices Research and Action Groups and involvement in academic research and learning.

Our peer gatherings, events, projects and research are all planned and led by survivor research and action groups. We meet both to shape our in-house activities and to influence the world of research, social policy, professional training and practice with survivor perspectives, priorities, and questions. Our Co-founder/Director, Concetta Perôt, also works in association with Universities to bring a survivor-informed perspective on studies. She is an Associate Researcher at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London and with Bristol Medical School at the University of Bristol. She is also working with in an NIHR funded project to evaluate the mental health needs of people attending Sexual Assault Referral Centres, co-ordinated by Leeds University.

Jane Chevous, our other co-founder/director, runs our registered learning centre, is a published writer on abuse and safeguarding and has over 40 years experience in community, further and higher education, specialising in participation and involvement. She is also an Associate Researcher with the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, and is currently studying for an MSC in Mental Health Recovery and Inclusion at the University of Hertfordshire

Both Jane and Concetta are available for co-producing research and events with survivors, survivor-led training, and consultation on setting up and running studies and projects with survivors.


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Changemakers is our peer network for abuse-survivor activists. we also run a peer network for abuse survivor-researchers, and are developing this in partnership with the Violence and Mental Health Network (VAMHN). 

If you are a survivor-researcher and want to join, please contact us for more information.


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Out of the Shadows

We were very pleased to work with campaign group 38 Degrees and Nottingham Sexual Violence Support Services to undertake research with survivors and survivor organisations, and develop guidelines for media about providing support information when broadcasting programmes that feature abuse and violence, to support a campaign for consistent and survivor-sensitive information provision. The report Out of the Shadows can be downloaded here, please do share widely.


 ‘Off Radar’ Children and Young People

The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified risks to children and young people who are at risk of or are experiencing violence and abuse in their home and are ‘off-radar’ – unknown to agencies and services that can help. We worked with independent survivor researchers, King’s College London, the Violence & Mental Health Network (VAMHN) and McPin Foundation to undertake a rapid research project with adult survivors and professionals, about how to reach and help such children and young people now and in the future.

We have published the initial results (here). See the Safe, Seen, Supported page for the final report and other resources. 


Church of England Safeguarding

We’re pleased to work with Changemaker Roz Etwaria from Little Ro , our new partner organisation, in our latest survivor-led research project. We have been working with the Church of England National Safeguarding Team to bring the voice of survivors to their work improving the church’s safeguarding practice and response to survivors. To download the report from our research on Responding Well to survivors, please click the image (right). To join our mailing list for survivors and others interested in safeguarding in church and faith settings, please contact Jane (Chevous)  who is a church abuse survivor and is leading this work.