Conducting Listening Sessions with Survivors of Gender-based Violence

Listening sessions are an excellent technique to capture participants’ views and suggestions about an issue. There are several well-established principles regarding how to conduct effective listening sessions; however, when working with survivors of gender-based violence, it is critical to integrate a trauma-informed perspective to every aspect of the process. The aim of this brief document is to provide some key considerations and guidelines when conducting listening sessions with survivors. This is not intended to be a comprehensive list of considerations, rather, it highlights some of the most prominent issues that may arise when eliciting survivors’ perceptions, experiences, and suggestions in a group setting.