From Cauca, Chocó, and Antioquia: survivors will restore justice before the JEP.

In the territories where war scarred the lives of thousands of victims with the fire of silence, dignity is beginning to find its way through words, memory, and action. With its new project “Technical Support and Assistance to Victims of Gender-Based Violence: Strengthening Participation through Virtual Reality Training and Proposals for Restorative Sanctions within the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) in Colombia”, funded by the IFA – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen of Germany, the Fundación Arrópame con tu Esperanza launches an unprecedented commitment to restorative justice in Colombia, led by women and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) during the armed conflict.

This process, which will take place in the departments of Cauca, Chocó, and Antioquia, seeks to strengthen victims’ participation in transitional justice spaces within the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) through innovative strategies that combine legal training, psychosocial support, immersive technologies such as virtual reality, and the creation of proposals for restorative sanctions.

📚 Training with a Differential and Restorative Approach

Over the next 10 months, at least 64 individuals, including women and people of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), will be trained in topics such as transitional justice, victims’ rights, and the functioning of the JEP. These sessions will not only focus on legal knowledge but also on developing emotional and restorative skills that enable safe, empathetic, and transformative participation.

Moreover, thanks to Arrópame’s extensive experience and an intersectional methodological approach, the project prioritizes not re-victimization, but rather the strengthening of autonomy, voice, and resilience of those who have historically been silenced.

🕶️ Technological Innovation to Confront the Truth

One of the project's major innovations will be the implementation of technological innovations, with the goal of familiarizing participants with the JEP's procedural environment, preparing their interventions, and gaining confidence in confronting those responsible for the victimizing acts. This strategy not only facilitates practical learning but also reduces the anxiety and fear of those who must face complex judicial processes, ensuring both legal and emotional preparation.

📜 Case Reconstruction and Restorative Sanction Proposals

One of the project’s core pillars is the detailed reconstruction of cases of sexual and gender-based violence, aimed at submitting formal accreditation requests to the JEP. Each testimony will be systematized and documented, and a legal narrative will be developed to demonstrate the truth, the harm suffered, and the right to reparation.

Based on these processes, the participants themselves will design proposals for restorative sanctions, also known as TOAR (Trabajos, Obras y Actividades con Contenido Restaurador – Works, Actions, and Activities with Restorative Content). These sanctions aim not only to repair individual harm, but also to transform the social fabric, prevent the recurrence of violence, and restore the dignity of those who have survived.

🧵 Memory Woven with Dignity

As part of the memory and expression activities, participants will create symbolic textile pieces—mochilas, headwraps, and scarves—that tell their stories, their resistance, and their dreams. These creations will not only serve as tools for individual and collective healing, but also as powerful instruments of advocacy—a way for victims to speak to the country, to the JEP, and to the world in their own voice.

This project is not only aimed at achieving immediate results, but also at becoming a replicable model of gender-sensitive restorative justice for other regions of the country. With this initiative, Arrópame con tu Esperanza reaffirms its commitment to victims of the conflict, to a form of justice that offers comprehensive support, and to a peace built from within the community—from the hearts of those who lived through the war and now demand justice with dignity.

📢 Follow us to learn more about the progress of this restorative process that puts victims at the center.

📍 Cauca – Chocó – Antioquia

🔗 @FundacionArropame

💜 Wrapping Hope