Sailing Into Uncharted Territory: Victim Survivors’ Perspectives on Some of the Tensions of Engagement as Partners in Co-Design Research

The engagement of people with lived experience as co-researchers is gaining momentum across areas of physical and mental health and community services research. Reporting of co-designed research often espouses the benefits and successes, without critical reflections on how the process was experienced by people with lived experience. This paper explores the experiences of victim survivor co-researchers on a research team at an Australian university, with a focus on tensions. Four themes were identified: Boundaries: clarity about how we use our space; Representation: the weight of our voice; Reform: the pace of change; and Recognition: converting lived expertise into academic currency.