Decentring the colonial gaze: conversation on inclusive knowledge and evidence for Violence against Women Prevention in Africa

On September 09, 2021, the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF), Raising Voices and the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) unveiled an Introductory guide (also available in French) for the creation of prevention knowledge and evidence for African women’s rights organisations in a webinar themed Decolonised and Inclusive: Reflections on the generation of VAW prevention evidence for African Women’s Rights Organisations.

The Guide is an extension of the Violence Against Women (VAW) Prevention Primer (also available in French) produced by Rasing Voices and AWDF in 2019, providing an in-depth look into approaches to generating knowledge and evidence on the prevention of violence against women. It seeks to deconstruct the traditional framing on ownership of knowledge and evidence and prioritises methodologies and processes that centre the voices, needs and expertise of African women and women’s rights organisations.

Edna Ninsiima and AWDF’s Dinnah Nabwire reflect on the webinar and on issues arising from the discussions, in this article.