As part of this initiative, Synergy hosts events that bring justice actors together to address stigma in the justice system, publishes articles on CRSV-related myths and misconceptions, and disseminates concrete evidence on how stigma affects justice outcomes. We are currently using the Toolkit in different contexts with local partners and justice actors, expanding it to address gaps, and creating new tools tailored to justice institutions. Additionally, Synergy is working closely with survivor groups and networks to co-develop and test tools and produce practical guides to help justice actors engage more meaningfully with survivors.
This work has been supported by the UK’s Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative and the Nuremberg Academy and is currently funded by Global Affairs Canada. All of Synergy’s work in this programme is informed and strengthened by the inputs of its Roster of Survivor Experts. There can be no justice without survivors at the centre.
In early 2024, we completed the first rollout of the Stigma Toolkit in South Sudan. Together with our partner, STEWARDWOMEN, a South Sudanese organisation, we worked with survivors of sexual and gender-based violence to assess how stigma impacts survivors’ interactions with the justice system.
We completed the assessment with key stakeholders and held four workshops with 45 survivors, during which they shared their experiences, highlighted the barriers they face when seeking justice, and developed an advocacy strategy focused on key priorities for improving the survivor experience within South Sudan’s justice process.
In September 2024, Synergy for Justice, in partnership with STEWARDWOMEN, released a report, “There is No Justice in this Country - Experiences of Sexual Violence Survivors in South Sudan,” amplifying the voices of the 45 women survivors who participated in the workshops. Their testimonies reveal the deep barriers they face in seeking justice – stigma, fear, and a system that fails to hold perpetrators accountable. The report centres survivors’ voices and lived experiences and sets out their recommendations for urgent action.
Following the initial implementation and release of the advocacy report, Synergy for Justice and STEWARDWOMEN launched a new phase of our work together in March 2025 to put those same survivors’ advocacy strategy into action. Today, survivors are leading awareness-raising efforts in communities, courts, and law enforcement to break the stigma and improve justice for CRSV survivors.
In partnership with the Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation, we are using the Toolkit in the Central African Republic and Nepal. With a strong track record of survivor-centred advocacy and global action against conflict-related sexual violence, the Mukwege Foundation brings deep expertise in supporting survivor networks and advancing justice.
The Mukwege Foundation is an international, rights-based organisation working to end impunity for CRSV. It supports survivors through three key pillars: by strengthening survivor-led networks, by scaling holistic support models, and by promoting accountability and state responsibility. The Foundation creates space for survivors to speak out, shape policy, and push for meaningful change.
Together, we are working to ensure that survivors are at the heart of justice processes. The Mukwege Foundation supports two survivor-led networks: MOSUCA in the Central African Republic and the Aparajit Foundation in Nepal to use the Toolkit to document stigma in justice processes, lead survivor-led advocacy, and engage directly with justice actors and policymakers. Through data collection, capacity building, and public awareness efforts, our joint efforts are contributing to systemic reforms and fostering safer, survivor-centred justice pathways for CRSV survivors.
We’re pleased to partner with Laboratorio de Justicia y Política Criminal and Corporación Humanas in Colombia. Both organisations bring unique strengths in elevating survivor voices and promoting institutional transformation, having combined experience in feminist advocacy, justice reform, and transitional justice.
Corporación Humanas is a feminist think tank and political action centre advancing the rights of women, girls, and adolescents from an intersectional and human rights-based perspective. Since its founding, it has worked to eradicate violence against women in all its forms, particularly in the context of Colombia’s armed conflict. Laboratorio de Justicia y Política Criminal is a research-for-action centre committed to strengthening the efficiency and accessibility of Colombia’s justice system. Through interdisciplinary research and policy engagement, it promotes evidence-based justice responses for survivors of sexual violence.
Together, Humanas and Laboratorio de Justicia y Política Criminal are adapting and applying the Toolkit across ordinary and transitional justice jurisdictions in Colombia. They are working closely with survivors and justice officials to identify how stigma manifests and hinders justice in legal processes. Through collective workshops, institutional analysis, and survivor-led data collection, they are challenging harmful biases, supporting institutional reform, and building safer, more responsive justice systems for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. Findings will contribute to collective reparation efforts and be shared with key justice institutions to drive long-term change.
Women's Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC), the leading Palestinian feminist human rights organisation, is our partner in Palestine. WCLAC brings experience in advancing women’s access to justice and confronting sexual and gender-based violence through a survivor-centred, rights-based approach.
Since its founding, WCLAC has worked across the occupied Palestinian territory to provide legal and psychosocial support to survivors, document violations, and advocate for accountability and legal reform. Its work addresses not only interpersonal violence but also the gendered impacts of occupation, including movement restrictions, institutional fragmentation, and heightened exposure to violence, while challenging deep-rooted stigma, victim-blaming, and patriarchal norms that restrict justice for survivors.
WCLAC is adapting and implementing the CARSV Stigma Toolkit across the West Bank, combining capacity-building with legal advocacy and documentation. The project supports justice actors, young lawyers, and women’s protection networks in identifying and countering stigma in legal processes, strengthening survivor-sensitive referral pathways, and enhancing professional practice. At the same time, survivor testimonies and evidence of occupation-related violations will inform national and international advocacy, linking stigma directly to justice failures and promoting meaningful, survivor-centred change.
La Strada-Ukraine is our partner using the CARSV Stigma Toolkit for Justice in Ukraine. With decades of experience promoting gender equality and protecting the rights of survivors, La Strada-Ukraine brings invaluable insight into the barriers that CRSV survivors face when navigating the justice system.
La Strada-Ukraine is a national civil society organisation that has worked to combat gender-based violence, human trafficking, and discrimination since 1997. They operate Ukraine’s National Toll-Free Hotline for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, Human Trafficking, and Gender Discrimination, and provide critical legal and psychological support to survivors. La Strada also leads training sessions for police, judges, and legal aid providers, and has developed critical digital resources to inform and support CRSV survivors.
La Strada-Ukraine is leading a comprehensive study to identify how stigma, bias, and misconceptions obstruct access to justice for CRSV survivors. By gathering evidence from within the justice system and from survivor-support organisations, the team is developing recommendations for legislative and institutional reforms. Through workshops, public campaigns, and policy engagement, this project is already shifting harmful attitudes and promoting gender-sensitive, survivor-oriented justice in Ukraine.
The Myth Debunker assists justice actors in recognising some of the most common myths and misconceptions about CRSV and counters them before they harm survivors and affect the outcome of the investigation, the prosecution, and the adjudication process for CRSV cases.
Guide to Non-Stigmatising Language for Justice Actors and Supporters
The guide provides examples of non-stigmatising language to promote safe, meaningful engagement with the criminal justice process and ensure dignified support for survivors.
Guide to Good Practice For Defence Counsel in CARSV Cases
This guide sets out best practices for Defence Counsel in CRSV cases to uphold fair trial rights while avoiding stigma, addressing harmful myths, and engaging sensitively with survivors of sexual violence.
A Bank of Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Survey Questions
The Bank of Survey Questions is useful to measure and monitor CRSV beliefs, attitudes, and practices within justice functions and by justice actors.
As part of efforts to elevate survivor voices and ensure they have a meaningful seat at the table, Synergy for Justice participated in the Assembly of States Parties of the ICC, as a member of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court, and hosted a side event on stigma faced by children affected by conflict-related sexual violence, centred on survivor perspectives. We also monitored the trial of former Congolese rebel leader Roger Lumbala for international crimes to identify stigmatising language and practice in the courtroom. In parallel, Synergy for Justice conducted workshops for judges and prosecutors from Palestine, focusing on how stigma shapes justice processes and legal outcomes and strengthening survivor-centred judicial and prosecutorial practice.
We continue to work with both local and international partners to identify stakeholders interested in implementing the toolkit in their respective contexts, with plans to expand its use globally. If you are interested in working with us or exploring opportunities to implement the toolkit, please contact us at [email protected]
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