Batik is actually a collection of Apache XML modules for on the fly export/conversion of SVG. One of the really useful tools in the collection is Squiggle, a Java application for simply viewing SVG. From my experience, this is a difficult application to compile on some distributions, so hopefully its packaged for you.
Why bother? Call it the sober judge of SVG. Of all of the SVG viewers, it is probably one of, if not, the most spec compliant viewers. If you receive or create an SVG and it won't import properly, see how it views with Batik. If it does not display properly it is more than likely an issue with the creating application. The exception to this is SVG exported from Adobe Illustrator, which often has Adobe only extensions included in the SVG file, thus only viewable in Adobe SVG viewers or applications. As the saying goes, your mileage may vary.