IICI Releases "In Our Own Words: Survivor Perspectives Resource," with Foreword by Nadia Murad
Our partners at the Institute for International Criminal Investigations (IICI) have released In Our Own Words, a new survivor-centered resource on the ethical gathering and use of information about systematic and conflict-related sexual violence (SCRSV), developed to complement the Murad Code. The resource was developed alongside survivors and partner organizations around the world, including Nadia’s Initiative (NI).
At NI, we are guided by a simple but essential principle: survivors’ voices must shape not only what is documented, but how documentation is done.
In the foreword to In Our Own Words, Nadia Murad reflects on the responsibility carried by those who gather and use survivors’ stories and information about systematic and conflict-related sexual violence:
“Telling one’s story takes unimaginable courage, as it involves facing the fear of retribution, dealing with shame, and confronting the possibility of stigma.
“The Survivor Perspectives Resource was thoughtfully developed to provide practitioners with the opportunity to fully understand survivors’ experiences as expressed in the stories they shared with a wide range of documenters. It is through this knowledge that one can fully appreciate the value of using the Murad Code…”
Below, we are sharing the release announcement from IICI, and we encourage you to share this valuable resource with those in your networks who are involved in gathering and using information about SCRSV.
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Release from the Institute for International Criminal Investigations (IICI)
January 29, 2026
The Institute for International Criminal Investigations (IICI) is pleased to announce the publication of In Our Own Words: Survivor Perspectives for Those Gathering and Using Information about Systematic and Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, a foundational new resource developed with survivors and partner organisations around the world.
If you investigate, document, monitor, report on or otherwise gather and use information about systematic and conflict-related sexual violence (SCRSV), the way you approach your work can have profound consequences for survivors. Yet survivors are rarely asked about their own experiences of these processes. In Our Own Words changes that.
Developed to complement the Global Code of Conduct for Gathering and Using Information about SCRSV (the "Murad Code"), this foundational resource emphasises why the Murad Code's minimum standards matter. While the Murad Code distils the standards practitioners must uphold to ensure their work is safe, ethical and effective, In Our Own Words centres survivors' voices to show how these standards translate into practice.
By addressing critical questions such as "Why do we speak to you?", "What helps us to open up, and what silences us?", and "How does your preparation—or lack of it—impact us?", the insights shared by survivors in this resource demonstrate:
How assumptions, stigma and bias can cause harm
What respect looks like in practice
How seemingly small choices affect survivors' lives
Why survivor-centred approaches are essential
The resource is available in English, Arabic, Bosnian, French, Nepali, Spanish, Swahili and Ukrainian. An interactive microsite featuring audio clips and curated quotes is also available in English and French.
Read the full resource and visit the microsite.