Murad Code project team participates in global conferences to raise awareness of survivor-centred approaches to information-gathering and use

In June, Dr Ingrid Elliott, Deputy Co-Lead of the Murad Code project, joined a two-day conference Justice Denied: Fighting Widespread Impunity for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence hosted by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (CEVAW) in Melbourne to speak on a panel on the topic “Evidence and Access in Real Time." The session challenged the prevalent "golden hour" mentality in evidence collection, emphasising that safe and effective work with survivors cannot be rushed. Drawing on experiences from Syria, Iraq, Myanmar, and Ukraine, the presentation highlighted how the pressure to gather evidence immediately after violence often fails both survivors and justice objectives. The discussion explored the growing ecosystem of actors seeking survivor information and how the Murad Code provides essential principles to ensure survivors retain genuine control over how and with whom they share their experiences.

In October, Marion Volkmann-Brandau, Deputy Co-Lead of the Murad Code project, and Olivia Head, Senior Manager, participated in the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) 42nd Congress in Bogotá, hosting an interactive session on "Ethical Documentation of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence: The Murad Code and FIDH's Experience." The session brought together lawyers, documenters and activists to explore practical implementation of the Code, with presentations from Alejandra Garzon, Feminist Lawyer at Sisma Mujer (Colombia), Diana Palencia, Executive Director of IDHEAS (Mexico), Edilma Loperena, Indigenous leader and human rights defender (Colombia), and Mossad Mohammed Ali, Executive Director of the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (Sudan), who shared how they had integrated the Code's principles into litigation strategies and community-based documentation initiatives.

Olivia Head speaking in the session “Ethical Documentation of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence: The Murad Code and FIDH's Experience.”