RESEARCH

“It was a honour to be part of the research you are carrying out. I left with an overwhelming feeling of happiness! You made me feel very comfortable and this interview was a great way to highlight how far I have come on this journey and made me proud that I could talk so freely with you in aid of helping others who have had similar experiences.”

Survivor participating in an Imkaan research project

“Imkaan’s experience in delivering high quality research, along with their expertise in researching and writing about the issues facing BME women, meant that their involvement in the No Woman Turned Away project at Women’s Aid was pivotal. Their review of the report, and the research they produced relating to the NWTA data and interviews with workers in the sector was essential in ensuring that the findings of the report were placed in an appropriate context, and reported in a way that highlighted the voices and intersectional experiences of BME women.”

Charlotte Miles, Women’s Aid

Our approach:

We aim to build a robust knowledge base that supports the voice, needs and aspirations of minoritised women and girls and our members who design, deliver and sustain critical ending-VAWG support services for BME women and girls. We specialise in producing grassroots-informed and located research which may involve dedicated research in areas that are under-addressed within VAWG; needs assessments, programme evaluations including survivor consultation exercises.

These pieces can be funded by independent grant-making bodies, commissioned by local, regional and central government departments, specialist women’s voluntary or community based organisations. We also partner with Universities and specialist women’s organisations on specific projects. We are a very small research team and therefore also work with a range of BME women independent consultants.

Our research is grounded in the lived realities of minoritised women and girls, on areas which may not be considered ‘popular’ or the ‘norm’, drawing attention to critical issues including policy gaps and needs, areas of social justice and equality. It is essential for us to conduct research in ways that acknowledge women’s current experiences and histories of multiple oppression but equally identify women’s strengths, achievements, activisms and political resistance. You can read more about our approach to research here.

Current research highlights:

We are currently working on phase 2 of our research with Dr Ravi Thiara (University of Warwick, SWELL) on service responses to Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) women and girls experiencing sexual violence.

We are working with a number of ‘by and for’ BME-ending VAWG organisations on the design and delivery of different project evaluations and service reviews.

We are a partner in the EU/UN Women regional programme, ‘Implementing Norms, Changing Minds’, which aims to end violence against women in the Western Balkans and Turkey. Within this role, Imkaan is conducting research to identify opportunities and challenges for implementing an intersectional approach to ending VAWG, as well as support the establishment of a Regional Expert Working Group (REWG) on intersectional discrimination and violence against women and girls.

Publications spotlight:

Imkaan (2013) Beyond the Labels: Women and girls’ views on the 2013 mayoral strategy on violence against women and girls. London: MOPAC.

Imkaan and University of Warwick (SWELL) (2015) Between the Lines Research Briefing: Service Responses to Black and Minority Ethnic Women and Girls Experiencing Sexual Violence. London: Imkaan and University of Warwick.

Imkaan, Positively UK and Rape Crisis England and Wales (2017) Taking a Forward View on Women and Mental Health: Key Messages for Government. London: Women’s Health and Equality Consortium

Latchford, L. & Ackerley, E. (2018) Chapter 4. Applying an Intersectional Lens to Sexual Violence Research and Practice in Beckett, H., Pearce, J. (Ed.) Understanding and Responding to Child Sexual Exploitation. London: Routledge Academic, pp. 54-66

Greater London Authority (2018) Survivors' Consultation: listening to women and girls affected by gender-based violence. London: Greater London Authority

If you have any questions about our research please contact: Sumanta Roy, Head of Research, Evaluation & Development or Lia Latchford, Research and Development Co-ordinator.