What does Justice for GBV mean for you?
- Posted on
- In Articles, Media
- by CSVR
CSVR Launches Its 16 Days of Activism Campaign to Reimagine Justice for Survivors of GBV
As the global community marks the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) is proud to launch a bold public-engagement initiative under the banner: "What Does Justice for GBV Mean for You?" This initiative invites South Africans—and Africans across the continent to reflect, engage, and contribute to a deeper, more inclusive understanding of what justice truly means for survivors, families, and communities affected by gender-based violence and violence against women and girls in particular.
The campaign aims to expand the justice perceptions beyond the courtroom, challenging the narrow assumption that justice is achieved only through convictions. Instead, CSVR's campaign encourages society to consider the full spectrum of justice:
• Social Justice – dismantling the harmful norms, inequalities, and power dynamics that sustain violence.
• Psychosocial and Healing Justice – ensuring survivors and their families receive sustained mental health, trauma, and emotional support.
• Livelihoods and Economic Justice – addressing the economic drivers and consequences of GBV, including poverty, unemployment, and economic dependency.
• Safety and Protection Justice – guaranteeing that communities, schools, public spaces, and homes are places of safety.
• Transformative Justice – transforming institutions, structures and systems at all levels to prevent violence, respond effectively, and uphold survivor dignity.
A Conversation on Justice
With the question "What Does Justice for GBV Mean for You?", CSVR seeks to spark a multi-layered national and continental conversation that recognises that:
• For many survivors, justice is the experience of being heard, believed, and treated with dignity.
• For families, justice means safety, protection, empowerment and long-term psychosocial support.
• For communities, justice means breaking the silence, confronting stigma, and addressing harmful social norms.
• For institutions, justice requires timely, accessible, and survivor-centred services, free from secondary trauma or bureaucratic barriers.
By amplifying these diverse perspectives, the campaign highlights the reality that justice is not a single event, but a continuous process of healing, safety, and transformation.
Justice Beyond the Criminal Justice System
While the criminal justice system remains essential, CSVR's research and programmatic interventions consistently demonstrate that justice is broader than just criminal justice
outcomes. Survivors repeatedly express that justice includes:
• Receiving compassion, respect, and being trusted.
• Access to quality MHPSS services.
• Reintegration into supportive families and communities.
• Economic empowerment and opportunities that allow them to rebuild their lives.
• Living in a society where violence is prevented – not tolerated, justified, or ignored.
This holistic understanding of justice reflects CSVR's core mission of addressing not only the symptoms of violence but also the deep structural and social drivers that sustain it.
CSVR's Commitment During the 16 Days of Activism
Throughout this period, CSVR will roll out a series of activities designed to deepen public reflection, expand knowledge, and strengthen collective responsibility, including:
• The Justice Op-Ed Series: Expert analyses, survivor reflections, and insights on justice, healing, and prevention.
• Interactive Online Platforms: Tools for communities to share their perspectives on what justice looks like in their own lives and local contexts.
• Engagement with policymakers and institutions to highlight gaps, advocate for survivor-centred reforms, and strengthen accountability.
These interventions reflect CSVR's unwavering commitment to trauma-informed Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Services (MHPSS, community resilience, evidence-based advocacy, and the advancement of justice systems that uphold the dignity and wellbeing of all survivors.
A Call to Action
CSVR calls on all partners – government actors, civil society, researchers, traditional leaders, private sector partners, and community structures to join us in ensuring that justice becomes a lived reality, not merely a legal aspiration.
CSVR is a multi-disciplinary institute that seeks to understand and prevent violence, heal its effects and build sustainable peace at the community, national and regional levels.
