Media statements

Medical Research Council (MRC) to host World Rape Research Initiative

The SA Medical Research Council (MRC) announced today its Gender & Health Research Unit has been chosen as the new home of the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) of the Global Forum for Health Research. The Secretariat of the SVRI moved to the MRC this year from the World Health Organisation.

"Each year millions of women and children are raped worldwide. Rape violates their human rights and has a long lasting impact on their mental and physical health" says Professor Rachel Jewkes, Director of the MRC’s Gender & Health Research Unit and Secretary of the SVRI.

"We are very honoured to be given the challenge of leading this important world body. It recognises the important contribution that South African researchers have made to our knowledge and understanding of sexual violence. Whilst the SVRI is based at the MRC, we intend to provide the leadership to develop research needed to meaningfully advance us on our road towards our vision of a world without sexual violence".

This Initiative has been established to promote research on sexual violence against women worldwide. The Initiative aims to deepen our understanding of sexual violence and how best to prevent it, and to respond to it using health and legal systems and actions from communities. In order to do this the SVRI has established a network of over 600 researchers and activists from over 50 countries, supporting and promoting research in many countries, building capacity in sexual violence research, disseminating materials and building the support base for research on sexual violence.