How to Research Gender-Based Violence in Girls and without Disabilities? Methodologies from a Narrative Review

Abstract

This paper presents a narrative review of the literature focused on the methodologies employed to investigate gender-based violence against girls, both with and without disabilities. Based on a context-situated search, fourteen studies published between 2000 and 2024 were identified. The decision to conduct a narrative review stems from both the scarcity of research in this area and the need for a deep, flexible, and critical analysis of the available methodological approaches. The findings reveal a wide variety of techniques used, including individual interviews, focus groups, children’s appreciation tests, structured surveys, school questionnaires, participant observation, case file analysis, and pedagogical initiatives such as reading clubs. Qualitative methodologies—particularly those that prioritize active listening and situated interpretation—are found to be most effective in capturing the complexity of girls’ experiences of violence. Furthermore, the review identifies significant limitations, including ethical challenges, limited procedural systematization, and a lack of intersectional perspectives. Schools emerge as key spaces for both the reproduction and the transformation of violent practices. From a rights-based, intersectional, and childhood studies perspective, the importance of recognizing girls as active agents in research processes is emphasized—capable of contributing meaningful knowledge about their own experiences. This study offers methodological guidance that may help strengthen future research and inform public policies committed to the well-being and rights of children.