CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF VIOLENCE & RECONCILIATION

The Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation was established in 1989 — in the final years of apartheid, as South Africa was convulsed by political violence, state repression, and the deeply embedded social patterns of harm that both produced and sustained those conditions. CSVR's founding premise was that violence is not random or inevitable. It can be understood, prevented, and — in its aftermath — responded to in ways that support healing and justice rather than compounding harm.

Thirty-five years later, operating from its offices in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, CSVR is recognised as one of South Africa's foremost multi-disciplinary institutes on violence — publishing work that has shaped national and international policy on transitional justice, GBV, xenophobia, torture, and political violence, and providing direct services to individuals and communities who have experienced violence in many of its forms.

For survivors of GBV, the organisation's work is relevant both directly (through counselling and psychosocial support services) and indirectly (through research, advocacy, and resources that inform policy and practice across the GBV sector).

Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Services (MHPSS) — Direct Services for Survivors

CSVR's MHPSS programme provides both direct and indirect services:

Direct psychological counselling — Individual counselling sessions, available face-to-face (Johannesburg) and online. Sessions are available to survivors of GBV and sexual violence, torture and human rights violations, forced migration, and crime-related trauma. Contact CSVR to confirm current availability and waiting times.

Addressing Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) CSVR provides MHPSS specifically to victims of SGBV — combining psychosocial support with psychoeducation groups that explore the dynamics feeding into SGBV, and facilitation of survivors' access to further support and referral networks.

Rehabilitation for Survivors of Torture, Forced Migration, and Human Rights Violations With support from USAID and Dignity (and previously from the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture), CSVR provides holistic, multidisciplinary rehabilitation to torture survivors — addressing the biological, psychological, and social dimensions of the impact. This is particularly relevant to migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees who have experienced state violence in their countries of origin.

Psychosocial Support for Frontline Workers Burn-out and secondary traumatisation among GBV workers and counsellors is a significant and underrecognised problem. CSVR provides peer supervision, mentorship, and capacity-building workshops for organisations and frontline practitioners — helping to sustain the people who sustain survivors.

Mental Health and Leadership — Women in Leadership In partnership with the Ford Foundation, CSVR provides support to women in leadership positions, promoting mental health awareness and wellbeing as a specific focus.

Mental Health Awareness Campaigns CSVR's annual Mental Health Imbizo (held each October during Mental Health Awareness Month) provides a public platform for dialogue, information sharing, and community engagement around mental health. The CSVR Symposium webinar series, infographics disseminated across social media, and psychoeducation workshops extend this reach throughout the year.

Research and Publications — A Knowledge Resource for All

CSVR's research programme is one of its most significant contributions to the GBV sector. Survivors, practitioners, legal professionals, journalists, policymakers, and researchers can access:

• Peer-reviewed research on violence, GBV, femicide, transitional justice, and reconciliation
• Policy briefs and public commentary on government failures to protect survivors
• Resources specifically on SGBV, including the Report of the Third Southern Africa GBV Prevention Forum (January 2026) and work on reparations for SGBV victims in transitional justice processes
• The African Transitional Justice Hub (atjhub.csvr.org.za) — a comprehensive knowledge platform
• The Trauma Clinic Blog (traumaclinicblog.wordpress.com)
• The International Journal of Transitional Justice
• A dedicated Gender blog (gender.csvr.org.za)

All publications are freely accessible at csvr.org.za.

Advocacy and Policy Engagement

CSVR regularly publishes media statements, press releases, and commentary on GBV-related developments — including condemning the SAPS withdrawal of GBV cases, raising alarms about failures in the justice system, and advocating for survivor-centred policy reform. CSVR's voice in the public discourse on violence in South Africa is significant and well-established.

CSVR: 87 De Korte Street, 8th Floor, Braamfontein, Johannesburg. Phone: +27 11 403-5650. Email: info@csvr.org.za. Counselling and MHPSS: contact to confirm availability. Website: csvr.org.za.