Between survival and care: Exploring the lives of mothers surviving domestic violence and supporting their children after sexual abuse

Anusandhan Trust has been awarded an SVRI Research Grant 2026 to examine the intersecting experiences of mothers who are survivors of domestic violence and whose children have experienced sexual abuse. The study will explore how gendered caregiving expectations, patriarchal norms and systemic barriers shape mothers’ well-being, caregiving, access to justice and support. Using a trauma-informed, participatory approach and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), the research will document women’s lived experiences and examine responses across health, child protection, legal and support systems in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The study will contribute evidence towards integrated, mother-child-centred and trauma-informed responses to domestic violence and child sexual abuse.