The issue of GBV also has an ethical dimension. Researchers, policy-makers and health workers working with survivors of GBV may, in order to raise awareness of GBV, unintentionally increase the risk of violence experienced by women. Without sensitivity and attention to confidentiality and safety of the individual, survivors of violence may be put in both physical and psychological danger. It is essential that all research on GBV prioritise a woman's safety, thereby ensuring that it is carried out in an ethical and sensitive manner. The notion of 'informed consent' derives from this principle.
Justice refers to the equitable distribution of both the burdens and the benefits of research.
In response concerned non-governmental organisations have also established programmes and services to either support, care or inform women who have been abused. Specialist services like residential shelters and refuges, special courts, women's police stations and special desks set up at local police stations have also proved beneficial to women who have survived abuse from their partners. An International Report on the Status of Women in 140 Countries. There are fewer specialist refuges for women in developing countries. Clearly the costs of operating such services require funding beyond the means of most NGOs who tend to do most of the innovative work on GBV in developing countries.