In partnership with the International Nuremberg Principles Academy and the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Synergy for Justice developed a toolkit to assess and address stigma, myths, stereotypes and misconceptions about conflict and atrocity related sexual violence (CARSV) in criminal justice systems and courts. The CARSV Stigma Toolkit for Justice equips justice actors and justice systems to become survivor-centric, trauma-informed, and capable of delivering the predictable and rigorous justice necessary to end impunity for conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). The Stigma Toolkit provides a roadmap for recognising and understanding the effects of stigma across the justice spectrum so that survivors feel empowered and secure enough to disclose their experiences and seek justice. Justice systems that meet survivor-centric and trauma-informed standards will prosecute more cases and convict more perpetrators, reducing impunity.  This toolkit is designed to reduce stigma's influence and lower-case attrition rates, contributing to a more robust justice response for survivors.

The toolkit is currently in its pilot phase. It was first piloted in South Sudan with survivor groups, which resulted in an advocacy report with recommendations from survivors to improve the justice system. Synergy for Justice will continue to pilot the toolkit in different countries and is currently seeking partnerships with judicial actors, survivor networks, victim advocates, civil society organisations, INGOs, and donors engaged in addressing CRSV to test the toolkit and provide feedback and recommendations on its use. Through these collaborations, Synergy for Justice aims to empower justice institutions and practitioners to adopt indicators, assessments, and tools that improve, measure, and monitor institutional capacity for handling CRSV cases safely and effectively. 

To learn more about the CARSV Stigma Toolkit for Justice, please visit Synergy’s website: Synergyforjustice.org.

To access the CARSV Stigma Toolkit for Justice, please visit: https://toolkit.synergyforjustice.org/home