Asking Communities About Their Experiences with Violence: Evidence from Colombia, Mexico, and Nigeria
Co-funded by IPA’s Peace & Recovery Initiative and Intimate Partner Violence Initiative, researchers conducted a systematic evidence review and a multi-site study to examine the effects of asking participants about their experiences with violence. The team focused on contextually relevant forms of political violence in Colombia and Nigeria, and criminal and intimate partner violence in Mexico. The study measured benefits and harms to individuals participating in violence research and will produce practical guidance and tools to develop and monitor ethical practices in engaging with study participants.
The Challenge
Research on violence-affected populations often involves asking participants about past experiences with different forms of violence, raising important ethical questions about potential psychological harm. Existing evidence suggests that participating in violence research can cause short-term distress, but it is generally seen by participants as a positive experience. However, most studies have been conducted in high-income countries with non-representative populations and do not use methods that can credibly identify the effect of participating in research.1 This creates a limited understanding of the true causal effects of asking about violence, particularly in violence-affected settings in low- and middle-income countries.
Colombia, Mexico, and Nigeria provide important contexts for studying these effects, as all three countries have experienced high levels of violence and political insecurity. These circumstances have led to significant negative impacts on communities such as forced displacement, elevated poverty levels, and extremism.2 As such, learning about how individuals respond to inquiries about their experiences with violence provides an opportunity for informing ethical research practices in similar conflict-affected communities.
The Research
Researchers assessed the effects of asking individuals about their personal experiences with violence. First, they conducted a systematic review of existing global evidence on the subject. Following this, researchers conducted randomized surveys in Colombia, Nigeria, and Mexico to measure the impact of asking about violence. The study in Colombia involved 3,246 individuals in 15 municipalities in the Antioquia Department that had past or recent experience with political violence. In Nigeria, 3,200 individuals from Kaduna state participated in the study on interreligious violence. In Mexico, the study involved 4,992 women in 16 municipalities in Estado de México who were either asked about criminal violence or intimate partner violence.
Individuals were randomly assigned to either receive questions about their experiences with different forms of violence or serve as the comparison group and receive placebo questions based on common batteries from political science, economics, and psychology. Researchers recorded individuals’ reactions to participating in the intervention and their distress from experiencing violence.
Results
The researchers will produce a publicly available set of decision-making tools and fieldwork materials to support researchers in asking about violence during data collection. Results expected in 2026.
Sources
1. Jaffe, Anna E., David DiLillo, Lesa Hoffman, Michelle Haikalis and Rita E. Dykstra. 2015. “Does it hurt to ask? A meta-analysis of participant reactions to trauma research.” Clinical Psychology Review 40:40–56.
McClinton Appollis, Tracy, Crick Lund, Petrus J. de Vries and Catherine Mathews. 2015. “Adolescents’ and adults’ experiences of being surveyed about violence and abuse: A systematic review of harms, benefits, and regrets.” American Journal of Public Health 105(2):e31–e45
2. Okonkwo, Nkiruka Stella, and Tajudeen Ademola Akanji. "Political Violence in Nigeria: Examining Dynamics, Impacts, and Sociopolitical Realities." Journal of World Affairs (2025): 29769442251383267.
Tamayo-Agudelo, William, and Vaughan Bell. "Armed conflict and mental health in Colombia." BJPsych international 16, no. 2 (2019): 40-42.
Rubi Bledsoe, “When Crime Becomes Terror: Rethinking the FTO Designation,” Center for Strategic and International Studies, October 21, 2025, https://www.csis.org/analysis/when-crime-becomes-terror-rethinking-fto-designation