On March 18, 2026, Channel Foundation grantee Just Futures Collaborative launched Justice Beyond Jails, a global campaign exploring responses to gender-based violence (GBV) beyond criminal legal systems.

“Real accountability is built in communities, not courtrooms,” Just Futures Collaborative wrote in their launch.

Brought together in partnership with Athena Network, International Planned Parenthood Federation, and International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asian Pacific, the Justice Beyond Jails campaign will run until September 17, 2026. This campaign will share interactive storytelling, resources and learning spaces for fellow advocates that call attention to the potential to shift to solutions outside of criminalization in preventing GBV.

While strategies to combat GBV often rely on the criminal legal system, such as enacting stricter laws and harsher penalties, studies have found this approach isn’t the most effective in systemically reducing domestic violence. In fact, these tactics can actually have an adverse impact on justice, Just Futures explains.

For example, criminal legal responses may treat GBV as an occurrence on the individual level rather than acknowledge an environment of violence against women. In addition, those from a marginalized background who are harmed by GBV may find law enforcement not equipped to safely meet their needs.

Reports found some countries refuse to recognize violence on queer people enacted by their own families as domestic violence. Other individuals may be hesitant to ask for help from systems of criminalization with a history of harm against their communities. Those dependent on others, such as children or those with disabilities, may not have access to criminal legal systems.

In response, the campaign invites advocates, colleagues and organizers working against GBV to center an approach rooted in feminist accountability over criminalization.

Just Futures kicked off their campaign with their Justice beyond Jails interactive tool that shares the stories of those navigating experiences of GBV and the criminal legal system.

Using the online tool, users can journey through the scenarios and difficult choices those affected by GBV must face as they navigate the limitations of a justice system that claims to protect them. They can explore how different intersectional identities impact their experience.

This tool is one of the many resources Just Futures plans to share in the following months. Follow along to see how the campaign aims to create space for conversations that challenge the effectiveness of legal systems and ignite the exploration of evidence and strategies that work.