WHAT WE DO
Systemic Justice exists to radically shift what justice looks like – and who gets to shape it
Our work
Systemic Justice works to radically transform how the law works for communities fighting for racial, social, and economic justice. We’re the first Black-founded and majority BPOC organisation in Europe to use a community-driven, intersectional approach to strategic litigation.
At Systemic Justice, communities most impacted by injustice are our co-strategists: they set the direction, define the priorities, and build the long-term change they want to see. This is how we shift who holds power, who defines harm, and who drives the fight for justice.
We currently work in Europe (Council of Europe), with a view to expanding to other regions in a few years’ time. We work across three key areas to build and maintain the systems change that we need.
Photo: Black Queer & Trans Resistance March participants, Amsterdam / Joris van Gennip
Key work areas
Building knowledge and power
All too often, communities are unable to take advantage of the full potential of litigation, and access to legal knowledge is often mediated by lawyers or legal advisors. At Systemic Justice, we aim to help build the knowledge and power of communities, movements, and collectives so that they can make informed choices about how they want to incorporate strategic litigation in their campaigns for change.
Key work areas
Community-driven litigation
Systemic Justice works with an intersectional, community-driven approach to strategic litigation. Too often, litigation is shaped by lawyers or institutions rather than by the people most affected, reinforcing unequal power dynamics and overlooking the lived experiences and priorities of marginalised communities. Our model reverses this dynamic: we litigate with our partners, not for them.
Community of Practice
There is a growing desire within the legal field to take a more community-focused approach in litigation work. To support this change, we are facilitating a Community of Practice – a participatory space where litigators, legal practitioners, and litigating organisations can come together for mutual learning, unlearning, and shared reflection.
Thematic areas
Grounded in our ongoing commitment to centre marginalised communities in all aspects of our work, we believe that the thematic focus of our work should be defined by the communities experiencing racial, social, and economic injustice.
For this reason, we conducted an extensive community consultation process to anchor our analysis in the realities that communities themselves highlight. This ensures that our agenda, narratives, and future litigation projects are shaped directly by those most impacted by injustice. This initial consultation process led us to prioritise two thematic areas: climate justice and social protection.
Photo: Reclaiming Climate Justice Summit participants / Steven Pieternella
thematic areas
Climate Justice
We take an intersectional view of climate justice, centring those who are most affected by it as principal change-makers.
Social Protection
Marginalised communities are systematically excluded from social protection.
DONATE
We work to radically transform how the law works for communities fighting for racial, social, and economic justice. By donating to us, you are helping communities and movements across Europe achieve justice and equality.