Bristol and Women’s Aid develop best practice framework for domestic violence research

A new framework has been developed by Women's Aid in partnership with academic colleagues - including the University of Bristol - to promote best practice in research into domestic violence and abuse (DVA). The Research Integrity Framework aims to give policy makers and commissioners more clarity on the merits of different types of evidence and research, and the principles of integrity relating to DVA research. The framework is the culmination of two year's work led by the four Women's Aid federations of the UK, together with academic colleagues including Reader in Gender Based Violence, Dr Emma Williamson , from the University of Bristol's School of Policy Studies. "We recognise there is not always space to present information on the fundamental principles informing both the conduct of research and utilisation of findings in briefing papers, executive summaries and press releases. We have created this framework to enable researchers to indicate their adherence to some fundamental principles in an abbreviated format,' said Dr Williamson. The framework was officially launched as part of the United Nations 16 days of action against violence against women. The framework, whilst specific to the issues of research integrity in the research of domestic violence and abuse, is an example of the need for the co-production of guidance for researchers and those they work with.