Break the Cycle of Violence

The ongoing socio-economic inequalities, social fragmentation, and individual socialisation patterns have been asserted as amongst the spectrum of causal factors complicit in the persisting prominence of violence in South African society. Violence has continued to permeate our everyday realities.

CASE’s community-based psycho-social intervention was developed from the need to address problems of ongoing, pervasive violence and continues trauma. We at CASE believe that this is the root cause of and perpetuates the ongoing cycle of violence and dysfunction that exists in the community.

CASE addresses this issue by using a holistic ecological approach to break the cycle of crime and violence that individuals are exposed to.  In doing this CASE largely operates on a volunteer basis, recruiting volunteers from the community and thus, allowing for maximal ownership of its programmes and projects.

CASE’s ecological approach of working which recognises that when individuals are given the opportunity to process the traumas of their past in a safe space, build resilience in order to counter the ongoing effects of trauma and are provided with important skills, they will become empowered to make a difference, not only in their lives but within their community as well.

Members of the community are recruited, trained and developed into community leaders, volunteer trauma counsellors, mentors, facilitators and community project managers.

CASE relies on the concept of the intervention being systemic and that the shift in one system will have an impact on another system. Our programmes targets individuals, family, school and the broader community systems. It is, therefore, likely that a CASE counsellor who has acquired skills on conflict management is able to apply these skills within her own home and positively adapt her way of disciplining her children.