The Institute on Violence and Survival studies the long term effects of violence and violent systems, publishes materials on related topics for the public and local service providers that work with victims of violence, offers workshops and conferences, and provides fellowships to victims of violence.

The Institute on Violence and Survival studies the long term effects of violent systems – social arrangements rooted in violence. These are most commonly seen in their more brutally obvious forms: in communities caught up in ethnic cleansing or other internecine battles, in wars across national borders and wars of conquest or control, and in a variety of forms of political repression and dictatorship. Yet they also exist in the small social structures of home and family, in which violence can come to shape and misshape love and protection. Within each country there are a million tiny wars that sometimes coalesce into larger ones. Often, many violent systems exist at once, and the people caught in them suffer and inflict a multitude of wounds. The Institute began ten years ago with the goal of creating a place in which those most intimately acquainted with violence – its survivors – could research, write about, and comprehend the phenomenon. Since that time, we have hosted over thirty Fellows in residence studying genocide, mass violence, and family violence in India, Guatemala, Venezuela, Argentina, Australia, Cambodia, Nicaragua, Serbia, Bosnia, Zimbabwe, El Salvador, and the United States. We have recognized and researched the common paths of violence, and how violence functions in similar ways across cultures. The Institute also has a busy publications program, producing materials for use by survivor groups, theoretical pieces, books, and occasional publications. Foremost of these is "Tough Times Companion," produced biennially, a collection of poetry, photography, and essays for people suffering difficult times. It is available free and distributed to hospitals, shelters, clinics, sexual assault centers, and doctors’ offices. Also available for public use are the "After Violence" series publications, small pamphlets that explore the different pains of living after war and other violence, and suggest how people might deal with them. In addition to hosting Fellows and creating publications, the Institute has also hosted two international conferences, collaborated with CERI- Sciences-Po in Paris to support cross cultural, humanities-based peace projects ("Re-Imagining Peace After Massacres"), and conducted numerous trainings and workshops with survivors of violence or those who work with them.
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