Our aim for these sessions is to hold space for our community and we wouldn’t be able to do this work without our co-sponsors: the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women, Raising Voices, the Accelerator to Prevent GBV and the Prevention Collaborative. We hope that a united front in the face of trying times will strengthen our collective impact and allow us to continue advancing the critical work of addressing violence against women and violence against children worldwide.
Why Collective Care is Needed Now?
In the face of anti-rights movements posing obstacles to gender-based violence prevention and response work, we often find ourselves carrying not only the weight of the cause but also the burden of resistance, backlash, and sometimes direct threats to our work and wellbeing. These collective care sessions recognize that sustainable activism requires more than individual resilience – it demands collective care, mutual support, along with intentional community building and maintenance.
With dwindling investments from the Global North, the gender-based violence sector may be faced with severe and far-reaching impacts that are already being felt. The emotional labour of GBV alone is profound. We witness trauma, face systemic barriers, and consistently push against deeply entrenched power structures.
When combined with the current climate of anti-rights movements, our work can lead to:
- Burnout and compassion fatigue
- Secondary trauma and vicarious stress
- Isolation and disconnection
- Physical and emotional exhaustion
- Decreased effectiveness in our research and advocacy
- Strained personal or professional relationships
- A loss of hope and purpose
These sessions are built on the understanding that collective care is a political act. When we care for ourselves and each other, we resist the systems that benefit from our exhaustion and isolation. We challenge the notion that individual sacrifice is needed to sustain the collective momentum of social movements.
Expected Outcomes
Participants who complete these sessions can expect to:
- Develop collective care strategies
- Build stronger support networks within the wider community
- Gain tools for managing stress and preventing burnout
- Create sustainable self-care practices
- Strengthen their capacity for long-term engagement in response to anti-rights movements
- Foster deeper connections with fellow colleagues
- Enhance their resilience to opposition and backlash
Sessions
The webinar sessions build upon each other to create a comprehensive approach to collective care. The morning and afternoon sessions (ie, 1.1 and 1.2) will feature the same content, allowing you to choose the date that best fits your time zone. Live interpretation in French and Spanish will be available for the afternoon sessions.
Session 1: Building Psychological Safety
Trust and psychological safety are fundamental to collective care. Our first session establishes the foundation for each collective care session that follows, by establishing a set of community norms that allow for vulnerability and authentic connection.
Session 1.1 | 11 March 2025 | 10:00-11:00am SAST. Registration closed.
Session 1.2 | 12 March 2025 | 3:00-4:00pm SAST. Registration closed.
Session 2: Emotional Resilience: Finding Stability Within When the World Feels Unsteady
Awareness of our emotional responses allows us to better care for ourselves and each other. By understanding our triggers, we can develop proactive strategies for sustainability.
Session 2.1 | 18 March 2025 | 10:00-11:00am SAST. Registration closed.
Session 2.2 | 19 March 2025 | 3:00-4:00pm SAST. Registration closed.
Session 3: Countering the Anti-Rights Narrative
Anti-rights movements specifically target GBV activists. Learning to process this resistance collectively helps prevent isolation and maintains our effectiveness.
Session 3.1 | 25 March 2025 | 10:00-11:00am SAST. Registration closed.
Session 3.2 | 26 March 2025 | 3:00-4:00pm SAST. Registration closed.
Session 4: Funding Landscape
Understanding the funding landscape is key in the face of systematic oppression. Building stronger funding networks creates resilience and sustains our movements.
Session 4.1 | 1 April 2025 | 10:00-11:00am SAST. Registration closed.
Session 4.2 | 2 April 2025 | 3:00-4:00pm SAST. Registration closed.
Session 5: Identifying Key Challenges
Specific focus on key challenges we are facing. Learning to process this resistance collectively helps prevent isolation and burnout.
Session 5.1 | 8 April 2025 | 10:00-11:00am SAST. Registration closed.
Session 5.2 | 9 April 2025 | 3:00-4:00pm SAST. Registration closed.
Session 6: Identifying Solutions to Key Challenges and Next Steps
Sustainable activism requires strategic action towards future obstacles. This session ensures that we brainstorm potential solutions to key challenges that have been identified.
Session 6.1 | 22 April 2025 | 10:00-11:00am SAST. Register here.
Session 6.2 | 23 April 2025 | 3:00-4:00pm SAST. Register here.
