What does IJM mean by “collaborative casework”?
IJM investigators, lawyers and social workers intervene in individual cases of abuse in partnership with state and local authorities in the countries in which they work. Working independently of government authorities is not an effective long-term strategy to ensure that the poor are protected from oppressors. Rather, a functioning government is the best hope for lasting change that protects the poor from oppression. Often, abuse against vulnerable individuals persists because of weaknesses in a countrys justice system. By pushing individual cases of abuse through the justice system from the investigative stage to the prosecutorial stage, IJM determines the specific source of corruption, lack of resources, or lack of good will in the system denying victims the protection of their legal systems. In collaboration with local authorities, IJM addresses these specific points of brokenness to meet the urgent needs of victims of injustice.
