Lawyers against Abuse (LvA) is a non-profit organisation that uses an integrated approach to address gender-based violence (GBV) in Diepsloot, an informal settlement on the edge of Johannesburg. Research shows that GBV, which includes sexual violence, domestic violence and child abuse, often has a disproportionate impact on women and children from poorer, marginalised communities, such as Diepsloot. Levels of GBV in Diepsloot are more than double as compared to other parts of the country.

Despite progressive and victim-centric legislation, GBV victims rarely see justice due to severe deficiencies in implementation by justice system state actors who fail to provide victims with the protection to which they are entitled under the law. In response, LvA’s multi-disciplinary team provides GBV victims with holistic legal and psychosocial support services, while working to strengthen the justice system’s response to GBV and empower communities around their legal rights. This two-pronged approach that provides victim support, while also addressing broader systemic issues, is critical to ensuring that victims have meaningful access to justice and that the justice system works effectively.