Event Press Release
Notice of the Violence Against Women (VAW) Litigation Institute for the Feminist Litigation Network (FLN), September – October 2025
For Immediate Release
19 September 2025
The VAW Litigation Institute: Feminist Strategic Litigation on Obstetric Violence and the Rights of Women with Disabilities
Date: 22 September -3 October 2025
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
The Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA) will host the Violence Against Women (VAW) Litigation Institute, the flagship capacity-strengthening programme of the Feminist Litigation Network (FLN). This year’s Institute will run from 22 September to 3 October 2025 in Johannesburg, South Africa, with a thematic focus on feminist strategic litigation addressing obstetric violence and the rights of women with disabilities.
ISLA’s Litigation Institutes are intensive two-week engagements, combining theoretical and practical learning to strengthen feminist lawyers’ capacity to litigate women’s rights strategically at domestic, regional, and international levels. Participants are feminist litigators drawn from the FLN, a Pan-African network at the center of ISLA’s work to build a critical mass of feminist legal practitioners advancing women’s human rights across the continent.
Programme Highlights
The 2025 VAW Institute curriculum blends rigorous academic content with practical exercises, designed to challenge entrenched gendered exclusions and equip participants with tools for systemic legal reform.
- Week One: Participants will examine obstetric violence in African healthcare systems, explore comparative and regional normative frameworks, and assess opportunities for strategic litigation to secure accountability and redress. Sessions will also cover the intersection of VAW and the rights of women with disabilities, highlighting unique forms of violence, barriers to justice, and the application of disability rights frameworks.
- Week Two: Participants will engage in intensive training on the theory and practice of amicus curiae briefs in feminist litigation, participate in drafting exercises, and undergo both written and oral assessments to evaluate their capacities. The Institute culminates in a moot court competition simulating a hearing before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, allowing participants to apply their acquired skills in a practical courtroom setting.
Purpose and Outcomes
The overall objective of this VAW Institute is to develop a pool of African feminist litigators who can strategically use the law to challenge patriarchal structures, secure remedies for survivors of violence, and shape feminist jurisprudence across Africa. By centering the lived experiences of women, particularly those facing intersecting marginalizations such as disability, the Institute underscores the transformative potential of litigation as a tool for justice and accountability.
ISLA looks forward to engaging further with this cohort of FLN lawyers and continuing the journey of strengthening feminist litigation capacities in Africa.
About ISLA
ISLA is a feminist and Pan-African organization whose mission is to protect sexual and women’s human rights through litigation and capacity-strengthening initiatives. ISLA works with partners across Africa to hold state and non-state actors accountable for violations based on gender and sexuality, highlight positive developments, amplify women’s leadership, and develop feminist jurisprudence that centers women’s voices and experiences in legal systems
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For more information about this event please contact:
Name: Kay Mahonde- Chaterera , Feminist Litigation Network Manager
Email: kay@the-isla.org