Conflict-Related Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Investigation Training Course

Participants can apply survivor-centred safeguards throughout investigation planning, contact and information management.

• Survivor-centred principles: safety, choice, confidentiality, respect and non-discrimination
• Trauma-informed practice applied without treating memory variation as deception
• Risk assessment covering retaliation, stigma, detention and family harm
• Child safeguarding, assent, consent and best-interests determinations
• Disability inclusion and accessible communication arrangements for witness participation
• Referral pathways mapped using informed consent and minimum necessary disclosure

Participants can produce a proportionate investigation plan that integrates security, protection and evidentiary priorities.

• Investigation hypotheses framed around allegations, elements and available information
• Case theory separates facts requiring proof from assumptions and inferences
• Security plans address travel, communications, extraction and information compromise
• Witness contact strategies minimise exposure through staged and discreet approaches
• Prioritisation matrix ranks incidents by risk, relevance, feasibility and urgency
• Roles, decision authorities and escalation routes documented before field activity

Participants can prepare and conduct ethical interviews that obtain reliable information without unnecessary harm.

• PEACE interview framework adapted for survivor and witness interviews
• Interview objectives translated into neutral, open and non-leading questions
• Rapport-building techniques establish purpose, boundaries and participant control
• Interpreters briefed on confidentiality, neutrality, terminology and trauma sensitivity
• Free narrative followed by clarification, probing and chronological reconstruction
• Closing procedures confirm wellbeing, referrals, consent and future contact preferences

Participants can identify, preserve and assess multiple forms of evidence relevant to SGBV allegations.

• Evidence mapping identifies testimonial, documentary, physical and digital sources
• Chain-of-custody records preserve item history, access and transfer details
• Medical records assessed for provenance, consent limitations and corroborative value
• Digital evidence preserved through metadata capture, hashing and secure storage
• Corroboration strategy tests material facts without demanding unnecessary repetition
• Source assessment records access, reliability, bias, consistency and limitations

Participants can create secure, consistent incident records while controlling access to sensitive information.

• Standardised incident forms capture essential facts without unnecessary personal data
• Informed consent records specify collection, use, storage and disclosure limits
• Unique identifiers separate personal details from incident and evidentiary records
• Need-to-know access controls applied to case files and contact information
• Data retention schedules address operational need, legal duties and destruction
• GBVIMS+ principles considered when managing non-identifying incident information

Participants can analyse incidents for patterns and identify evidence that may link crimes to perpetrators or superiors.

• Incident matrices compare locations, dates, victim profiles and alleged perpetrators
• Pattern analysis distinguishes recurring conduct from coincidental similarities
• Linkage evidence connects incidents, units, weapons, orders and communications
• Perpetrator mapping identifies roles, relationships, deployment and opportunity
• Command structures reconstructed from rosters, orders, reports and witness accounts
• Command responsibility indicators assess knowledge, control, prevention and punishment

Participants can assess whether available information supports legal characterisation and further investigative action.

• Legal characterisation distinguishes rape, sexual slavery, forced pregnancy and torture
• Contextual elements assessed for armed conflict, attack and organisational policy
• Evidence-to-elements matrix identifies proof gaps and targeted investigative actions
• Alternative explanations tested against reliable information and documented assumptions
• Credibility assessment avoids stereotypes about trauma, gender and delayed disclosure
• Threshold decisions distinguish reasonable grounds from criminal proof standards

Participants can draft clear findings and make safe, mandate-appropriate referrals of investigation material.

• Finding structures separate established facts, analysis, conclusions and recommendations
• Attribution language calibrated to evidence strength and applicable proof thresholds
• Report drafting protects identities through aggregation, pseudonyms and redaction
• Quality assurance checks facts, citations, consent records and confidentiality controls
• Referral decisions assess recipient mandate, survivor wishes and disclosure risks
• Briefings communicate findings without exposing sources or compromising proceedings

Participants can apply professional conduct standards and create an implementation plan for their investigation role.

• Codes of conduct address sexual exploitation, abuse and conflicts of interest
• Secondary trauma indicators recognised through supervision and peer-support arrangements
• Case review meetings use structured decisions, actions and accountability records
• Supervisory review tests interview plans, evidence gaps and risk controls
• Investigation quality checklist applied before case closure or referral
• Personal application plan identifies mandate-specific procedures and immediate actions