Dear Mayor Durkan and Members of the Seattle City Council, We are leading organizations in Washington State working to end sexual assault, domestic violence, and other forms of gender-based violence. We are deeply disturbed by the news, reported last week, that the Seattle Police Department has apparently abandoned existing policy on prostitution enforcement and resumed the practice of routinely arresting women in the sex trade in North Seattle. As organizations with many dec

Amy didn't give up. After suffering severe physical and psychological abuse from her child's father, Amy did the things we encourage domestic violence victims to do: she fled her abuser, got a protection order, obtained full custody of her child, and moved away to seek safety. But she had difficulty finding safe housing, her son began experiencing serious health problems as a result of the abuse, and her post-traumatic stress disorder became almost unmanageable. She didn't gi

Have you been following the progress being made for sexual assault survivors in Olympia? The Washington Legislature has passed bills that extend the statute of limitations for prosecuting sex crimes, redefine third-degree rape to be more aligned with affirmative consent standards, and take important steps to eliminating the rape kit backlog. But another bill that will improve the law for survivors is still awaiting its final vote—and it must get this vote by 5:00 tomorrow eve

Today, the Department of Education’s discriminatory Title IX rules were officially posted for public comment. Please take a few minutes to submit a comment opposing these discriminatory rules. Here's how: Visit the proposed rule's page on the Federal Register site and click the green SUBMIT A FORMAL COMMENT button. Enter your comment in the space provided. Use the sample comment below, or craft your own. (See these tips for submitting effective comments.) Choose a category fr

The bullet missed Rodica by inches. Rodica had just refused to give her then-husband money for gambling, and he followed her into the adult family home that she owns and operates. This wasn’t the first time he had demanded money from her. He had a gambling addiction, and as it grew, he increasingly sought ways to exert control over Rodica through threats. He often said that he would report her and her business for false violations unless she gave him what he wanted. She didn’

This morning, the Department of Education’s Betsy DeVos proposed discriminatory new rules that completely undermine existing Title IX protections for sexual assault survivors. While the Department has been touting its concern for due process, the new rule shows that DeVos is more concerned with saving schools’ money and making it easier to get away with sexual violence. Make no mistake, the proposed rules make schools less safe for survivors. They propose a narrower definitio

Big news! Hotel workers in Seattle will soon have stronger protections against sexual assault and harassment by guests, a defense against overwork that regularly results in their injury, and increased access to affordable health care! As you may recall, in 2016, Seattle voters passed the Hotel Employees Health and Safety Initiative (I-124), which sought to improve protections and working conditions for the city's hardworking hotel workers. Since then, Seattle's Office of L

Do you have a few minutes to speak out in support of improving workplace protections for survivors? House Bill 2661 strengthens Washington law to ensure survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking cannot be fired, denied employment, or subject to other discrimination at work because they are victims of abuse. The bill also requires employers to make reasonable safety accommodations as requested by the survivor. Here's how you can help: WHO TO CALL: Your senat

No one should be placed in the double bind of needing protection and being punished when they ask for it. But this happened to Amy, a war veteran and domestic violence survivor who had her child taken away when she reached out for help. We're defending Amy's rights to parent her child, and to not be blamed for the abuse committed against her. So today, we filed a lawsuit against Washington State's child welfare system to hold them accountable for wrongfully separating familie

You may remember Megan, a campus sexual assault survivor who was wrongfully denied the protection she sought—the protection she needed—from a Washington court. Though her account of the assault was uncontested, the court denied her petition for a sexual assault protection order (SAPO). The reason? She didn't prove she had a reasonable fear of future dangerous acts by the man, even though—like many victims of campus sexual assault—she had to continue to attend school with him.

In a time when it feels like we wake every day to a new challenge, we were heartened on Monday to receive a justice-filled reminder that progress is still possible. The Court of Appeals stood with Sandra and survivors across Washington—just in time to help us celebrate the final days of Domestic Violence Awareness Month! Sandra had asked the court for a domestic violence protection order (DVPO) against her husband, Joshua, but she didn't receive a full protection order until

Victims of domestic violence are over five times more likely to be killed by their abuser if the abuser has access to a firearm. And even if a gun is never fired, just knowing that an abuser has access to one causes domestic violence survivors to fear harm. That's why the Washington Legislature unanimously passed a 2014 law to prohibit gun possession by abusers who are subject to domestic violence protection orders that meet specific requirements. But tragically, abusers—and

There is a hidden cycle of abuse. It plays out in courtrooms across Washington State and, like many forms of abuse, is incredibly detrimental to survivors' emotional and economic health. Yet it remains largely unrecognized by the court. We're talking about abusive litigation. Abusive litigation is a pattern in which an abuser uses the legal system to continue exerting control over a survivor. Common tactics include repeatedly forcing the survivor into court for child custody

Our friends at the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project were told they have to stop helping some immigrants – we won’t stand for that. Today Legal Voice and 15 other organizations that advocate for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking filed an amicus brief in federal court here in Washington State, supporting our friends at Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP). The brief, co-authored by Laura Clinton and friends at Baker McKenzie, was file

Will you change lives today? With your support, Legal Voice identifies and fixes gaps in the law that leave survivors without the protection they need. Together, we change lives. Have you heard about Maresa? After splitting with her abusive partner, Maresa sought a parenting plan to help provide certainty and safety for their two children. The law is designed to protect people in Maresa's exact situation. But instead of following the law, the judge refused to include the fath

Legal Voice is headed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in our ongoing fight to protect the privacy and safety of our clients – a group of health care providers, clinic and hospital staff, researchers, and other people whose work involves fetal tissue. Last year, we went up against David Daleiden, the man responsible for the 2015 smear campaign against Planned Parenthood. He and Zachary Freeman of the conservative Family Policy Institute of Washington both requested publi

Megan is a university student who was wrongfully denied the protection she sought - the protection she needed - from a Washington court. When she asked the court for a sexual assault protection order (SAPO), Megan provided uncontested evidence of the campus assault. She also explained that she was afraid of the man, since her only interaction with him was a sexual encounter to which she said she did not consent. But the court denied her petition for lack of proof that she had

When a parent asks the court for a protection order to keep their children safe, the court might refuse to include all of the children. Can you believe that?? This is exactly what happened to Jose, who asked the court for a protection order to limit his ex-wife's contact with their three children. She had assaulted their nine-year-old daughter in the presence of the other siblings, leaving all three children in fear of their mother. Instead of granting a one-year protection o

You know that Legal Voice works in Olympia to pass strong laws to help protect domestic violence survivors. But creating those laws is only the first step. We also monitor Washington courts to ensure those laws are actually being followed. In Maresa's case, the court didn't follow the law. So we did something about it...and won! After splitting with her abusive partner, Maresa - who could not afford a lawyer - asked a Pierce County court for a parenting plan for their two chi

What better way to start 2017 than with a win for sexual assault survivors? Rebecca is a university student who, as students often do, spent an evening at parties with friends before returning to her dorm room. That's where, later that night, a classmate had sex with her – according to her, without her consent. Shaken and afraid after the incident, she reported it to the police and went to the hospital for a sexual assault exam. But later, when she asked the King County Super