Sexual violence has long been neglected both as a public health problem and a violation of multiple human rights. Rape is a threat to global security, and constitutes a crime against humanity. No rape free societies exist today. Rape impacts on the health and well-being of women in many ways and developing high quality health care services for them is very important, as is developing interventions for prevention. Sexual Violence is the least understood and researched form of violence against women. Research is critical in highlighting the extent of the problem, and strengthening public health services and prevention programmes. Lack of evidence hampers the development of good quality, evidenced based policies, services and programmes for women and girl survivors of sexual violence. This in turn results in secondary victimisation, discrimination and human rights violations. The SVRI Forum 2009 is aimed at promoting research on sexual violence, highlighting innovation and encouraging network and sharing in the area.

The three day event includes:

* Keynote and breakout sessions on the latest research and debates on: preventing sexual violence; responding to sexual violence; and global advocacy on sexual violence
* An analysis of current advances in health sector responses to sexual violence
* Networking opportunities to facilitate collaboration and partnerships among advocates, researchers, funders and policy makers
* A mentoring program to provide opportunities for small group and one-on-one consultations with senior researchers, policy makers, and community-based scholar/advocates
* Skills building workshops on: research; ethics and advocacy

To read further about the programme click here.