Synergy forms long-term partnerships with grassroots organisations providing access to care and justice for survivors of torture and sexual violence. Together, we develop a more profound understanding of the problems faced by survivors and their communities and implement programmes and services to address those needs. Synergy provides financial support and invests in maximising the effectiveness of our partners’ organisational structures and processes to help them more effectively care for survivors.
For many survivors, the healing and recovery process begins with disclosing their experience and choosing to have it documented by a medical professional for submission to international justice actors or as part of an asylum-seeking application. The process of disclosing their traumatic experience creates an opportunity for doctors to connect them with additional medical and mental health care providers and social services agencies.
We support grassroots organisations and independent medical and legal professionals documenting cases of torture and sexual violence. Synergy’s training, mentoring, and financial support ensure that they provide the highest standards of survivor-centric, trauma-informed care. We also partner with these organisations and practitioners to submit cases to international justice actors.
Survivors of torture and sexual violence often face numerous medical and mental health challenges. Many suffer from debilitating physical injuries resulting from the inhuman treatment they suffered while illegally detained. The psychological effects of their experiences often last a lifetime and can be equally debilitating. Insomnia, night terrors, flashbacks, and panic attacks are just a few of the long-lasting psychological and emotional effects of torture and sexual violence. We connect survivors to physical and mental health care providers who can help them process their experiences and heal from their trauma.
Survivors need allies and advocates in their community to help them overcome stigma and barriers to support, protection and justice. In collaboration with our partners, we help communities address stigmatising beliefs that limit survivor protection, support, reintegration, and access to justice.
We conduct research to explore the root causes of stigma and gather data on gender norms and gender violence in homes, workplaces, and communities. Our partners use this information to train and assist local communities in developing and implementing action plans to tackle stigma.
These action plans create supportive, connected environments that allow survivors of torture and sexual violence to heal and fully participate in their communities.
1. Survivors feel safe and are choosing to disclose and have their cases documented.
2. Survivors are experiencing healing and reduced stigma.
3. Survivors gain confidence and have hope for the future.
4. Communities are healing and developing healthier attitudes toward survivors of sexual violence.
5. Stigma is being redirected to perpetrators.
