Self-care for gender-based violence researchers – Beyond bubble baths and chocolate pralines

Researching sensitive topics often carries immediate effects on researchers, yet discussions about the emotional and psychological impacts of conducting this type research remain rare. In recent years, debates begun to emerge toll that qualitative field-based violence in general, gender-based (GBV) particular, can have those research. Most existing support self-care strategies response these effects, however, are primarily tailored towards practitioners, but not specifically for who face unique challenges experiences. At same time, most guidelines fields typically centre around neo-liberalized strategies, which fail take into account structural dimensions researchers’ long-term nature vicarious traumatization. article, we move beyond such approaches instead adopt relational collaborative ways taking care ourselves each other. Drawing our experiences researching GBV, propose coping with GBV require relationships collaborations. This communal approach becomes particularly acute within absence at institutional level, universities organizations. The article include forms peer-support fostering ‘caring communities’, form groups, collectives or networks.