Release of In Our Own Words: Survivor Perspectives Resource

The Institute for International Criminal Investigations (IICI) is pleased to announce the publication of In Our Own Words: Survivor Perspectives for Those Gathering and Using Information about Systematic and Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, a foundational new resource developed with survivors and partner organisations around the world.

If you investigate, document, monitor, report on or otherwise gather and use information about systematic and conflict-related sexual violence (SCRSV), the way you approach your work can have profound consequences for survivors. Yet survivors are rarely asked about their own experiences of these processes. In Our Own Words changes that.

Developed to complement the Global Code of Conduct for Gathering and Using Information about SCRSV (the "Murad Code"), this foundational resource emphasises why the Murad Code's minimum standards matter. While the Murad Code distils the standards practitioners must uphold to ensure their work is safe, ethical and effective, In Our Own Words centres survivors' voices to show how these standards translate into practice.

By addressing critical questions such as "Why do we speak to you?", "What helps us to open up, and what silences us?", and "How does your preparation—or lack of it—impact us?", the insights shared by survivors in this resource demonstrate:

• How assumptions, stigma and bias can cause harm
• What respect looks like in practice
• How seemingly small choices affect survivors' lives
• Why survivor-centred approaches are essential

The resource is available in English, Arabic, Bosnian, French, Nepali, Spanish, Swahili and Ukrainian. An interactive microsite featuring audio clips and curated quotes is also available in English and French.

Read the full resource and visit the microsite.