CSVR'S APPROACH

CSVR has been critical in advancing impactful peacebuilding and transitional justice in Africa. In particular, CSVR:

1. Developed the African Transitional Justice Hub, an online platform for building knowledge and communities of practice on transitional justice in Africa.
2. Engaged in transitional justice processes in South Africa, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mali, The Gambia and South Sudan, and has for the past 10 years provided technical support to the African Union policy-making organs for the development of continental policies on transitional justice for victims including the African Union Transitional Justice Policy (AUTJP) and the African Commission on Human and People's Rights (ACHPR) Study on Transitional Justice and Human and People's Rights in Africa. To date, these two soft law instruments have been adopted and CSVR is currently leading their continent-wide implementation and popularisation.
3. Hosts the Annual African Transitional Justice Forum together with the African Union Commission, bringing together key individuals to share experiences and shape practice on transitional justice.
4. Jointly established the African Transitional Justice Research Network (ATJRN), a network of 1,200 people, which produces bulletins and hosts workshops on transitional justice.
5. Founded and manages the International Journal of Transitional Justice, the only regular accredited publication on transitional justice, published in partnership with Boston University's Centre for Human Rights and International Justice and the Oxford University Press.
6. Participates as the only African partner in the Global Initiative for Justice, Truth and Reconciliation (GIJTR). CSVR brings African experiences and approaches to transitional justice to the consortium, which undertakes rapid response and holistic transitional justice projects in countries emerging from violent conflict (including South Sudan, Middle East and North Africa [MENA] region, Guinea, The Gambia and Sri Lanka).
7. Works with the South African Coalition for Transitional Justice, as a founding member, to secure the rights of victims of apartheid-era violations, promote accountability for those violations and seek reparations for victims.

CSVR is one of only a few specialist organisations providing therapy and counselling to victims of torture, forced migration and violent crime, and as such has been critical in strengthening evidence-based MHPSS interventions. CSVR: 

1. Established networks and partnerships with relevant communities, service providers and government departments and conducts research, supports social mobilisation and provides training on the complex issues arising from violence and torture. 
2. Provides group work to refugee children. 
3. Is the only mental health-implementing partner with United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) in South Africa. 
4. Beyond South Africa's borders, provides MHPSS technical support and training in various countries (including The Gambia, South Sudan and Guinea to date) and has built the capacity of local institutions to provide emotional containment to survivors. 

CSVR established and coordinates the Pan African Reparations Initiative (PARI), supporting a network of 50 organisations that provide reparations, rehabilitation and MHPSS services to victims of torture and other gross human rights violations in Africa. PARI convenes on an annual basis, and supported the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) in developing the general comment on redress for torture in Africa. It is developing guidelines for effective and practical implementation of the general comment. 

CSVR integrates its gender expertise into its interventions and advocacy work across various forums. CSVR: 

1. Serves as the civil society organisation representative on the South African Interim Steering Committee on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide. This committee sits within the Office of the Presidency. 
2. Works in close collaboration with nongovernmental organisation coalitions and networks to address violence against women. 
3. Published Violence against Women in South Africa: A Country in Crisis, a research report that is being used in the review of the National Action Plan on Gender-Based Violence. The high-profile study influenced public discourse and sparked the political recognition of violence against women as a nationwide crisis. 

CSVR drives a number of initiatives addressing the issue of urban violence. To this end, CSVR: 

1. Conducted a study of a South African public employment programme, the Community Work Programme, in advancing violence prevention. 
2. Established a partnership with the South African Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) on a violence and crime prevention intervention. 
3. Facilitated by the COGTA partnership, formed capacity-strengthening partnerships with community change agents, victims and at-risk groups in four communities across Gauteng (Marikana, Ekangala, Inner City and Kagiso). The community change agents are now working to address authority-based urban violence and to actively raise their community's concerns with local authorities on how to best tackle urban violence. 
4. Through participation in the Global Alliance Initiative on Urban Violence, CSVR supports a network of organisations advancing the integration of psychosocial approaches in the prevention of urban violence. The Global Alliance is currently composed of organisations from four countries (Philippines, Liberia, Denmark and South Africa).