VAMHN'S ECR BURSARY WINNER siofra peeren DISCUSSES THE events she attended using her vamhn bursary

Have a read below to see what our ECR bursary winner Siofra Peeren did with their award money.
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Sexual Violence Research Initiative Forum, Cancun, Mexico, September 2022 
Because of my ECR bursary I was able to attend and present my PhD research at the largest global conference on sexual violence: The Sexual Violence Research Initiative Forum in Cancun, Mexico. This conference brought together survivors, researchers activists, providers, third sector, industry and policy professionals to reflect on all aspects of sexual violence. It had an incredible programme of research and practice-based presentations as well as an impressive variety of well-being and networking activities. I presented on conducting a trauma-informed systematic review as part of a panel called ‘Being Trauma-Informed’, speaking alongside others who had used creative ways to make their research trauma-informed. At this conference, I connected with international peers and learned about I also made links with industry that I have continued to sustain since the conference. Many presentations at the conference stressed the importance of working in partnership with survivors in this field. Collaboration and partnership working are essential components of trauma-informed approaches and a strong interest of mine, and it was enriching to learn about the different ways that partnership working can look in different methodological, cultural and social contexts. Having the opportunity to attend the Sexual Violence Research Initiative has therefore given me invaluable opportunities to expand my network, disseminate my work and broaden my knowledge at a critical time in my career. 
 
Overseas Institutional Visit to the University of Melbourne 
The VAWMHN ECR bursary supported a 3-month visit to the University of Melbourne. I visited the Safer Families Centre which is a leading Centre of Excellence that aims to transform the health sector response to domestic and family violence. During my visit, I had the opportunity to collaborate with leading researchers in my field to analyse research data they had collected about intimate partner sexual violence. This collaboration resulted in a first-author publication which is currently under review. Having experience of working alongside an experienced qualitative researcher whose work had a significant influence on my PhD gave me unique skills and experience in qualitative research methods.  It was refreshing to be part of a different team, learn about different ways of doing research in my field, and to gain experience working in research in a very different part of the world. The team I visited gave me an extremely warm welcome and have continued to keep in touch. These connections will significantly benefit my future career.