Our methodology

Our Lived Realities uses a feminist justice approach to create and hold space with and for women and young people, in their diversity, to share through their own voices their stories. They articulate what will enable the fulfillment of their needs and wants and identify conditions that give them power, agency, choice, wellbeing and autonomy and pleasure. This is an approach that does not make assumptions about people’s lives and gets to the very root of the ways justice is realized, or isn’t realized, in our lives.

We aim to challenge the mainstream narrative of what is needed to improve the lives of women and young people, and to also challenge the concepts of what is considered “good” data and evidence, particularly in development. Our Lived Realities aims to elevate people’s voices and experiences as an integral part of capturing evidence to influence human rights based policy making.

The dominant development paradigm, including the Sustainable Development Goals, are a battle between commodities and the commons. As a transnational feminist alliance, RESURJ’s approach to justice includes that we understand and address the interlinkages between our bodies, health and human rights in the context of the ecological, social and economic crisis that we face.

As part of our ongoing advocacy in multilateral processes, we center evidence that is based on people’s realities. In particular, through platforming stories, we aim to amplify the interlinkages and experiences of women, girls and young people who have been pushed to the margins, to inform policy advocacy, resource allocation and interventions that tackle the roots of inequalities and injustices.

RESURJ is committed to upholding meaningfully inclusive, participatory and trust building processes. We commit to accountability and transparency in everything that we do. The stories featured in this initiative are documented with free, prior and informed consent and with kindness and care for the participants and for RESURJ’s members and allies who lead the conceptualizing and implementation of the Our Lived Realities initiatives in their countries and communities.