ee 10.9 Advocacy Strategy: Supporting Strategic Litigation for S more detailed guidance on the role paralegals can play in litigation processes, which is similar for both strategic and individual litigation. Many “strategic” cases grow out of litigation to resolve issues that arise in the ordinary course of running your program, so it’s important not to draw too formal a distinction between the two categories. 9.9 Empowerment Initiatives As well as incorporating empowerment into project design and paralegal casework, some projects may wish to run specific community empowerment activities to build capacity or enhance autonomy with the aim of accessing rights. Empowerment activities can be helpful even if your paralegal project can do little to achieve real change. Sensitizing communities to their rights can be empowering and eventually lead to change. This should be done with a conflict-sensitive approach because attempting to address power imbalances through such initiatives may be seen as controversial or even have a negative effect in certain climates. Paralegal safety should never be put at risk. These strategies might include: • “ Know your rights” workshops, aimed at the community in general, or a specific demographic such as women, parents of school-age children, historic migrants, failed asylum seekers, etc. CASE STUDY PRCBC opposes the prohibitively high fees charged by the UK Home Office for children who are entitled to register as British citizens, as this effectively negates their right. The organization has litigation pending to urge that only a fee equivalent to the authorities’ administrative expenses should be charged. PRCBC also opposes the “good character” requirement for children, and how it is implemented. They have fought this through litigation and advocacy, and helped convince the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration to investigate Home Office practice. • “ Comprehensive justice” workshops, which address the psychological consequences of injustices like denial of legal identity papers, in order to allow clients to grow and move on, regardless of legal outcomes, particularly when these can take years to materialize. •P  ublic events to spread awareness of rights on a mass scale. These events should invite audience participation in order to increase debate and use of empowering information. Strategies might include participatory theater sessions or call-in radio shows. • L  eadership programs in which paralegals train volunteers who have an interest in helping their communities. Successful community organizing depends on strong local leaders, which such events can build. You might wish to select leaders from specific groups of concern, such as young women. •C  reative or cultural initiatives, such as “theatre of the oppressed” which empowers people to communicate and analyze sensitive or complex topics. •P  ractical measures to help people access rights, such as convincing local employers to hire individuals your project targets, convincing healthcare providers to treat individuals denied healthcare coverage free of change, or convincing schools to educate children without official proof of identity. RELATED RESOURCE The International Refugee Rights Initiative’s pro bono legal aid directory covering most countries may help locate legal support, particularly in displacement contexts. DISCRIMINATION EMPOWERMENT SUSTAINABILITY DATA RELATED RESOURCES (EXTERNAL) RELATED SECTIONS (WITHIN) A C O M M U N I T Y- B A S E D P R A C T I T I O N E R ’ S G U I D E : D O C U M E N T I N G C I T I Z E N S H I P A N D OT H E R F O R M S O F L E G A L I D E N T I T Y | 115