VICTIM RIGHTS LAW CENTER INC
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Mission Statement
The Victim Rights Law Center is the first nonprofit law center in the U.S. solely focused on the legal needs of sexual assault victims. Established in 2003, we lead the country in providing free legal assistance for sexual assault victims to help them stabilize and rebuild their lives following sexual violence. Our legal help can ensure that victims stay in (or leave) school, protect confidential mental health, medical, and education records, preserve employment, sustain safe housing, secure/maintain immigration status, and access victim compensation and other benefits.
About This Cause
Imagine your life's necessities - housing, employment, privacy, education, safety, even your status in the country - put in jeopardy because you were a victim of sexual violence. The criminal justice system was never intended to help victims stabilize their lives following sexual violence; however, for many survivors, prompt civil legal representation can help accomplish what the criminal justice system cannot. The Victim Rights Law Center (VRLC) is the first nonprofit law center in the nation solely dedicated to comprehensively serving the civil legal needs of sexual assault victims. Our mission is to provide legal representation to victims of rape and sexual assault to help rebuild their lives, and to promote a national movement committed to seeking justice for every rape and sexual assault victim. VRLC provides free, comprehensive, trauma-informed civil legal services for sexual assault victims in the areas of privacy, safety, education, immigration, housing, and employment. Most legal advocacy programs address sexual assault only in the context of intimate-partner (domestic) violence, leaving the legal needs of the majority of sexual assault victims—those raped by non-intimate attackers (including neighbors, classmates, and acquaintances)—ignored and unmet. We meet these victims’ needs which cannot be met by other service providers. Our target populations are the underserved communities who are targeted for sexual violence: youth and college students (sadly, almost 50% of the victims we serve are under the age of 24), low-income individuals, LGBTQ+ individuals, individuals with disabilities, and individuals with limited English proficiency. Our growing team of staff attorneys (including specialists in education, immigration, and GBLTQ issues) currently provides civil legal services to over 900 rape and sexual assault victims each year in Massachusetts and Oregon. Our goal is to ensure that every sexual assault victim has a trained attorney by their side, helping them piece together their lives after the trauma, and preventing an individual from being victimized yet again. VRLC and our team of staff attorneys, pro bono and low bono attorneys have represented thousands of survivors in our 14-year history. At the same time VRLC staff attorneys have trained and mentored over 10,000 lawyers and advocates from every state and U.S. territory, continually improving access to justice for rape and sexual assault victims. In fact, we are the national thought leader on the legal needs of sexual violence victims, and frequently lend our expertise to the analysis of related public policy, legislation, and media.