Ethics support

Project ethics

Any research on gender-based violence is of a personal and sensitive character and, as such, can pose various ethical challenges. Recognising this, the UniSAFE project pays particular attention to the ethical implications of the study and strives to make sure that every issue related to ethics is recognised and addressed.

UniSAFE complies with the essential standards and principles of ethical research to ensure that ethics is at the forefront of our work and has passed the rigorous ethics review process set by the European Commission. We strive for:

  • ensuring confidentiality;
  • safeguarding voluntary participation;
  • obtaining informed consent;
  • respecting individuals and their autonomy;
  • protecting research participants’ well-being, safety and privacy;
  • reducing research participants’ discomfort and risk of harm;
  • whenever possible, maximizing benefits to research participants and society;
  • balancing risks and benefits related to the research;
  • taking a survivor-centred approach.

We hope that our ethics-focused approach, as well as our experiences in this field, will ultimately contribute to moving forward knowledge about the ethical aspects of empirical research on gender-based violence.

Ethics helpdesk

In order to safeguard ethical and socially responsible research, the UniSAFE team established the Ethics Helpdesk – the advisory body and centralised contact point on ethics-related issues for research participants (both institutions and individuals) and researchers.

The Ethics Helpdesk manages all incoming ethical issues – from problems, incidents and violations to questions, dilemmas, comments and suggestions. Its activities focus on:

• addressing, consulting and helping to tackle incoming ethical issues;
• responding to ethical queries; • informing about the UniSAFE project ethics;
• providing guidance about the UniSAFE ethical standards and mechanisms;
• clarifying UniSAFE ethical procedures; • advising in ethically ambiguous situations;
• providing a confidential channel for reporting breaches of ethics;
• providing support to researchers and research participants dealing with misogynist comments, hate speech, etc.

To encourage reporting of ethical concerns and posing questions, the Ethics Helpdesk does not act as an investigator or a complaints commission.

The front line of the Ethics Helpdesk is run by researchers from the Jagiellonian University in Kraków.

The Ethics Helpdesk is able to draw on the strong expertise and in-depth knowledge of the UniSAFE consortium, guaranteeing that appropriate advice and information is provided to any particular issue

Contact the helpdesk

If you want to share any ethical issue related to the UniSAFE project with the Ethics Helpdesk, send us an e-mail or use the contact form below. Please try to make your description detailed and accurate. The Ethics Helpdesk will respond to messages as soon as possible.

Please note that the E-mail address field is not compulsory: you can choose to contact the Ethics Helpdesk anonymously.

Only the Jagiellonian University researchers engaged in the UniSAFE project will have access to messages sent to the Ethics Helpdesk. Any data shared with the helpdesk will be protected and used just for purposes related to the project.