The full realisation of citizens’ rights as outlined in the constitution is only possible through an equitable justice system. Research points to limited access to justice for the majority of South Africans who live on the margins. There are several barriers cited, including low rights literacy, the prohibitive cost of legal representation, the cumbersomeness of the criminal justice system and the preference to seek alternative forms of justice including mediation and reparative justice in the traditional courts system.

Community advice offices are a critical entry point to the formal justice system. Their proximity to communities, free services and ability to simplify complex processes makes them a critical means to accessing justice. Over the years, Hlanganisa has partnered community advice offices across South Africa, providing small grants and institutional capacity development support that enables their continued existence. These community advice offices provide paralegal services, human rights information and dispute resolution services to the communities that they serve. Because they operate within these communities, understanding the sociocultural values, they enjoy the trust and confidence of their communities. The sustainability of these offices is crucial to the attainment of rights and freedoms of ordinary South Africans.

Current/ongoing projects

• Strengthening community advice offices in the Free State, Limpopo and KwaZulu Natal 2006 – current

• The Sisterhood Advocates Project Hlanganisa supports community advice offices to scale their impact by capacitating senior paralegals as master trainers in GBV paralegalism and in turn train ordinary women in the community peer mentors. These paralegals are known as sisterhood advocates supporting GBV survivors. Sisterhood advocates have increased the footprint of community paralegalism in rural communities that are often far from the formal justice system.

Previous projects

• Know Your NPA (National Prosecuting Authority) 2020 – 2022

Climate change related disasters such as droughts, floods and tropical cyclones have increased in frequency and intensity in the Southern Africa region leaving behind a trail of destruction. The most affected population have been women in rural communities because of their dependence on natural resources. In spite of this, they are the least consulted in the climate change and energy transition discourse.

Hlanganisa supports community-led initiatives contributing to equitable and just access to natural resources leveraging on indigenous knowledge systems. To this end, Hlanganisa funds grassroots organisations working to understand and mitigate the impact of climate change in their communities.

This work includes supporting community level efforts that harness indigenous knowledge to address disaster-risk advocating for access to land for women, ensuring food security and sustainable resource governance and clean energy.

Recent projects

• Climate and energy justice

• Women’s access to land rights project (2019 – 2022)

• Dialogue on intersections between GBV and the extractives industry

Active citizenry is a key component of any functional democracy. It is therefore important for citizens to understand the provisions in the national constitution for holding public officials to account for delivery of services and expenditure of resources.

Hlanganisa works with community-based organisations, structures and activists to enhance their capacity and provide them the necessary tools to hold public officials to account. This work includes building capacity in social accountability mechanisms such as budget tracking, participating in integrated development plans (IDP) and community-based monitoring of services through social audits and other democratic processes.

At a community level, Hlanganisa has enabled community-based organisations to equip members of their communities to be actively involved in processes such as monitoring of drug stockouts, advocating for increased participation of women in IDP processes and other decision-making structures, advocating for gender responsive budgets and access to more efficient services.

Recent projects

• Social accountability and promoting good governance project

• Strengthening democracy and social accountability

Almost 30 years have passed the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was adopted by the United Nations in recognition of how disenfranchised womxn were. Although there have been strides made in the opportunities available to womxn, discrimination from social, economic and political spheres of life are still a reality. This is especially true for womxn already on the margins of society and whose experiences are disregarded when shaping law and policy.

Hlanganisa’s gender justice work foregrounds women leadership at grassroots level, ensuring that they participate in decision making at all levels. Our intersectional approach seeks to mitigate systemic barriers impacting womxn.

Hlanganisa also has an impressive footprint in supporting creative methodologies that respond to GBV through research and advocacy.

Recent projects

• Sisterhood Advocates Project

• Mhare - Mainstreaming disability into GBV programming

• Women’s Leadership Development

• ZA Feminist School

• Documentation of Best Practices for Community Level Responses to Gender-Based Violence