Violence Against Women and Girls Research Network (VAWG)

Description

The Violence Against Women and Girls Research Network (VAWGRN) was established in 2019.

The original concept was to establish a permanent consortium to design projects concerning Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), to seek significant funding and devise strategies for its attainment. However, considering the diverse focal areas and researchers' sense of isolation, the establishment of such a consortium was deemed premature. Nevertheless, enthusiasm was high for creating a network that would promote connection, collaborative research development, and bring the world closer to a future without VAWG.

Following the initial meeting, several members volunteered to develop the network. Planned in-person meetings were moved online due to the Covid-19 pandemic, giving birth to a series of webinars. The organising team and the webinar series have since grown, creating sub-groups like the Research Events Working Group (REWG), the Early Career Researcher (ECR) network, and Specialist Interest Groups (SIGs). As of May 2021, VAWGRN became members of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, intending to continue developing in collaboration with EVAW.

Funded by Middlesex University from 2019-2021, the VAWGRN is led by volunteers of diverse backgrounds, committed to researching VAWG. The only requirement for steering group membership is active engagement in VAWG research and the willingness to dedicate time to network development. Bi-monthly meetings of the VAWGRN steering group last approximately 1 to 1.5 hours. Focused sub-groups meet monthly and feed into the leadership team meetings. The steering group promotes a collaborative and diverse approach, handling disagreements with a commitment to collaboration. Open to any individual engaged in VAWG research, the network membership is free and requires no commitments. The network currently has over 400 members.

The VAWGRN emphasises community, knowledge exchange, diversity in research, mutual respect in disagreement, and celebration of achievements. The network commits to challenging various forms of societal biases and adopting the principles and values of the Anti-Racism Working Group from the VAWG Sector.

Offers funding

No, this infrastructure does not provide funding.

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University affiliation(s)

University of Suffolk
Ipswich

Partner Universities

Middlesex University