Confronting Uncomfortable Truths: Learning Lessons for Decolonising Equality Institute’s Research and Knowledge Practices

This paper explores why decolonising research is critical to addressing violence against women and gender-based violence (VAWG/GBV). It highlights how legacies of colonisation and intersecting forms of oppression continue to shape research practices, often reinforcing the very inequities they seek to dismantle.

Drawing on decades of work led by Indigenous and decolonial scholars and activists, the paper brings forward key principles and practices for creating more ethical, equitable, and feminist approaches to knowledge production. It invites researchers — particularly those from coloniser/settler backgrounds — to reflect on their own roles, privileges, and responsibilities, and to consider how allyship, partnership, and decolonial practice can transform research and its impact.

At Equality Institute, we share this work as part of our ongoing commitment to learn, to be accountable, and to contribute to a future where research centres and amplifies the voices, knowledge, and leadership of historically marginalised communities.