Help advance women’s rights through an hands-on law internship in Cape Town
If you’re a law student or graduate, and you have a passion for women’s rights, here’s an excellent opportunity to gain meaningful and valuable work experience. This law internship in Cape Town will allow you to help with litigation, research, and advocacy campaigns designed to advance the rights of women in South Africa.
You’ll join the Women’s Legal Centre, a female owned and run nonprofit organization on a mission to highlight the vulnerability and discrimination many women in South Africa face, and providing vital legal support. They do this through litigation of cases for marginalized women, advocacy campaigns, research, and training.
As an intern, you’ll work closely with the legal practitioners in the team to prepare cases for litigation, develop advocacy and educational strategies and engage with stakeholders. You’ll also have a chance to assist on a communications level by designing and managing social media campaigns or writing analytical content for blogs or newsletters.
This law internship in South Africa is an excellent opportunity to gain practical work experience on an international level, while helping advance women’s rights in South Africa.
Learning outcomes of this law and advocacy internship;
- A wealth of practical experience in doing legal research, preparing cases, and running advocacy campaigns.
- An understanding of the ways in which the law can be applied to advance the rights and opportunities for women
- Insights into of the day to day running of a nonprofit legal center
- International work experience
QUICK FACTS
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Cape Town, South Africa |
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Environmental NGO |
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Facilitation, Research, Reporting, Monitoring, Education, Tree planting |
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8 Weeks |
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Varies |
ORGANISATION
You’ll be part of the Women’s Legal Centre (WLC), a nonprofit organization that works to protect and advance the rights of women in South Africa. Their mission is to assist women who deal with domestic abuse, discrimination in the workplace, and other issues that are prevalent South Africa and that keep women from progressing in society.
Their WLC’s aim is to develop feminist jurisprudence that recognises and advances women’s rights. They achieve their mission through litigation in areas such as equal access to resources, safety from violence, recognition of women’s right to work, and the right to own land and housing. The organization is committed to providing free legal advice and support to women who would ordinarily have no access to legal services.
Besides assisting with individual cases through litigation, the WLC also uses research, advocacy, and education as tools to drive their mission home, and to advocate for the state and the private sector to uphold their responsibilities in terms of women’s rights.
TASKS & REQUIREMENTS
What you’ll do
As a law intern in Cape Town, your tasks will be customized to your skills and experience, but they are likely to include the following;
- Do legal research for specific cases
- Help prepare cases for litigation
- Do research into and analysis of the legal challenges for women in South Africa
- Assist with developing advocacy strategies
- Engage with stakeholders
- Write website or newsletter content
- Help design and run social media advocacy campaigns
- Assist with administrative tasks
Requirements
- You’ll need to be a law student or graduate (or a student / graduate of a related field)
- Strong research skills and well-developed communication skills
- A passion for the work the Women’s Legal Centre does
- An ability to work quite independently and take initiative
- Some practical experience with similar work would be a bonus
- Bring your own laptop
WHERE YOU’LL STAY
You’ll be staying at the Lenox, a comfortable guest house in the heart of Cape Town. Built in the old Cape Dutch style, the Lenox is characterful and spacious. It has a garden with a barbeque area, a large dining room, and several other communal spaces. Shared bedrooms take four to eight people, and there are plenty of single rooms available as well (at an extra fee). You’ll be walking distance from a wide range of shops, cafes and restaurants, and at a great spot for some of the touristy highlights Cape Town has to offer as well. (As well as for views of Table Mountain!)
DATES & RATES
Internship start and end dates are flexible and will be discussed with your during the selection process.
What you’ll pay (2023 rates)
1 MONTH USD 1247
2 MONTHS USD 1,814
3 MONTHS USD 2,382
4 MONTHS USD 2,949
5 MONTHS USD 3,517
6 MONTHS USD 4,084
What you are paying for:
- Transfer from Cape Town International airport to your accommodation and back on arrival and departure day
- Accommodation based on a dorm room (4-8 pax). If you prefer a single room, please contact us for availability and prices
- Two meals (breakfast and dinner) a day from Monday to Friday
- Assistance with your visa arrangement & other preparations
- On the ground support during your stay
- Free WiFi
- Assistance with finding the perfect work placement
- Supervision during your internship
- Check-in and feedback as well as a reference letter after your internship
- Your own account on a career development platform that offers content and courses focused on exploring different career opportunities
- Reference letter at the end of your internship
- A discount on weekend activities, exclusive to Roots interns
Excludes:
- Flights
- Visa, medical and travel insurance costs for the duration of your placement – must include cover for repatriation
- Lunch, drinks, snacks, and items of personal nature (f.e. curios, gifts, clothing)
- Meals during the weekend
- Transport to the office
- Costs for additional excursions or activities
Optional extra:
Personal Development Sessions
To help you optimise your personal and professional development during your internship, we offer individual monthly sessions with a professional consultant. These 1,5-hour sessions offer opportunities to set goals, reflect on your experience, and ensure your internship will benefit your career as much as possible.
Monthly fee: USD 65
Workshop: Exploring the Nonprofit Landscape
To give you a full understanding of the nonprofit sector in Africa, we offer one-off individual online workshops by a South African digital marketing and fundraising specialist. You’ll learn about the needs of the nonprofit sector, best practices in nonprofit management, and sustainability of fundraising initiatives. You’ll also be given a large amount of useful resources.
Workshop fee: USD 65
QUICK FACTS
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Cape Town, South Africa |
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Legal NGO |
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Advocacy, Litigation, Research, Campaigns |
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4-12 Weeks |
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From USD 1247 |
INTERNSHIP HIGHLIGHTS
- Get a wealth of practical work experience in law within a nonprofit context
- Help advance women’s rights in South Africa through your work
- Be part of a passionate, all female team
- Enjoy living and working in Cape Town, a wonderfully diverse and scenically stunning city
1 MONTH USD 1247
2 MONTHS USD 1,814
3 MONTHS USD 2,382
2 MONTHS USD 1,814
3 MONTHS USD 2,382
HOW TO APPLY
If you’re ready to apply for this internship, here’s what to do:
APPLY
Fill in the application form (it will show in a new screen) which includes sharing your CV with us.
SPEAK WITH AN ADVISOR
We’ll set up a call with you to go through your application.
INTERNSHIP MATCHING
If we feel it’s a good match, we’ll set up a call between you and the supervisor for this internship.
CONFIRMATION
If everyone’s happy, we’ll provisionally confirm your placement! We’ll then send you all the information you need.
PAYMENT
We’ll then send you the invoice for the deposit. Only once we receive payment of the deposit your placement will be confirmed.
NEED TO MAKE AN ENQUIRY FIRST?
Or if you’d just like to ask us some questions about this internship first, just fill in the contact form below. We’ll be happy to assist!
