Why we exist

Survivors of conflict-related sexual violence face a myriad of consequences that range from permanent physical injuries and debilitating psychological trauma to stigmatisation, isolation, and socio-economic exclusion from their communities.

Access to reparation and other forms of redress for survivors have historically not been prioritised on policy agendas at the international, national, or local level.

Only a small number of conflict-related sexual violence survivors worldwide ever access their right to reparation after it has been awarded by either a formal justice mechanism or through administrative mechanisms.

In those rare occasions where reparation programmes exist, they are designed without the participation of the people they are for.

Our response

Recognise that acknowledgment, compensation, and other elements of reparation are key for survivors to be able to rebuild their lives. We do this by filling the existing gap, addressing not only the immediate needs of survivors but also their right to reparation through creating interim reparative measures projects when States are unwilling or unable to do so.

We do not stop there. The Global Survivors Fund (GSF) also actively advocates for reparation by States, which is ultimately their responsibility, and guides those States and their civil society in developing survivor-centred reparation programmes. For us, co-creation is the meaningful involvement of survivors in the reparative process, from inception to implementation. With this approach, survivors are not passive recipients or beneficiaries of support; they are agents of their own change.