This Briefing Note seeks to identify different kinds of harms that can result from the gathering and use of information about systematic and conflict-related sexual violence (SCRSV) if it is not done in a survivor-centred or effective way. It highlights examples of physical, security and psychological harms, stigmatisation, revictimisation, legal harms and loss of trust in justice, advocacy, news-reporting, protection and other processes, among other harms. The Note shows how such harms can ripple outward, affecting not only survivors but also their families, their communities, the processes to investigate, document or otherwise gather information about SCRSV, and broader goals such as truth-telling, justice, healing and protection. It also gives examples of the broader harm that arises when an information-gathering or information-use process fails to achieve its stated purpose because it was not survivor-centred, was ineffective, or was unrealistic from the outset.

The Note draws on examples shared during interviews with survivors and practitioners from various sectors as well as examples highlighted in literature. Examples of harms come from, among others, media coverage, humanitarian action, civil-society documentation, academic research, and international and national justice efforts.

The Note is published as a discussion document. Practitioners from different sectors are invited to reflect on the selection of harms highlighted in this Note, on other kinds of harms and other examples of such harms, and on how such harms must be avoided and addressed through collective, institutional and individual efforts.