Lawyers against Abuse (LvA) Orange Farm

1. **Legal Services** — free, professional legal assistance throughout the entire GBV legal process: - Protection order applications (submission, court preparation, legal representation at final hearing) - Criminal case support (rape, sexual assault, assault, attempted murder, domestic violence): police report support, ongoing liaison with investigating officer and prosecutor, client support throughout trial (can take years) - Technical legal advice for individuals and organisations outside direct operational areas - Diepsloot Family Court domestic violence helpdesk (new 2025) - Active follow-up to ensure protection orders are enforced if violated 2. **Psychosocial Support** — individual, family, and group therapy and counselling: - Drama therapy (individual and group) — evidence-based trauma processing through creative expression - Individual counselling — trauma, shame, guilt, anxiety, self-blame after abuse and sexual violence - Group therapy and peer support groups - Family counselling — supporting caregivers and family members of abuse survivors (including non-offending caregivers of child victims) - Referral to specialist mental health services where needed 3. **Empowering Communities** — outreach, education, and prevention: - Community workshops on GBV, legal rights, and available resources - School-based initiatives (protective behaviours, reporting abuse) - Community outreach campaigns and marches - GBV Forum engagement (Diepsloot) 4. **Systemic Change** — working with state actors to improve justice system response: - Accountability engagement with police officers, investigating officers, prosecutors, courts - Capacity-building training for state actors - Strategic litigation and advocacy - Community engagement to shift attitudes and norms

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About

Lawyers Against Abuse was founded on a simple observation that has enormous consequences: that in South Africa, most victims of gender-based violence cannot access the legal system. Not because the laws aren't there — they are, and they're good laws. But because a woman in Diepsloot or Orange Farm typically cannot afford a lawyer, does not know what her rights are, may be too traumatised to navigate the system alone, and may face a police station or court that is itself part of the problem. LvA exists to close every one of those gaps simultaneously.

Their integrated model — legal services, psychosocial support, community empowerment, and systemic change, all at once — means that a survivor walking into LvA's Diepsloot or Orange Farm office receives not just legal advice but the full continuum of support needed to actually achieve justice and begin healing. An active blog and social media presence document ongoing work including an Orange Farm GBV Imbizo held on 2 March 2026.

What They Offer Survivors

Free Legal Services — Protection Orders, Criminal Cases, and Civil Matters Qualified legal practitioners provide free legal services to GBV survivors — the core of LvA's model. This includes: - Applying for protection orders under the Domestic Violence Act and the Protection from Harassment Act - Supporting survivors through criminal case processes — from reporting at the police station through to trial - Handling civil matters arising from GBV (custody, maintenance, divorce proceedings connected to abuse) - Accompanying clients to SAPS, court, and other state institutions

The legal team represents survivors who would otherwise face the system entirely alone.

Psychosocial Support — Therapy and Counselling LvA employs a drama therapist and counsellors who provide therapeutic support alongside the legal work — recognising that justice alone is not healing. Drama therapy is a particularly powerful modality in communities where traditional talk therapy may carry stigma or cultural barriers, and where the body and creative expression are more natural routes to processing trauma.

Community Empowerment — Workshops and Outreach Community engagement coordinators run GBV awareness workshops in schools and communities across Diepsloot, Orange Farm, and Hillbrow — building the legal literacy, awareness of rights, and attitudinal change needed to challenge and prevent the conditions that produce GBV.

GBV Imbizos and Community Dialogues LvA holds regular community gatherings — including the March 2026 Orange Farm GBV Imbizo — creating public spaces for communities to engage with GBV, hear from survivors, and collectively commit to change.

Systemic Change — Police, Prosecutors, and Court Accountability LvA works directly with SAPS, prosecutors, magistrates, and court officials — creating accountability for misconduct, building capacity through training and workshops, and pushing for a justice system that is genuinely responsive to GBV survivors rather than retraumatising them.

R100 for 10 Campaign A public fundraising initiative through which supporters commit R100 per month — building sustainable income for LvA's work in three of Johannesburg's most under-served communities.

LvA — Lawyers Against Abuse. Diepsloot: 072 031 1840 (WhatsApp) or 068 680 0244. Orange Farm: 072 795 5528. Hillbrow: 067 924 9528. Email: info@lva.org.za. Facebook: lawyersagainstabuse. Twitter: @LvA_SouthAfrica.