In The News

 2012:

NPR/All Things Considered
House Passes Expansion Of Violence Against Women Act

Lisalyn Jacobs of Legal Momentum, a women's advocacy group, says cases often go stale when state or federal prosecutors have to drive hours to get to crime scenes on remote Indian reservations. More>>

In These Times
VAWA: A Victory for Women—But Which Women?

Lisalyn Jacobs: "There are three key areas where the new version of the Violence Against Women Act represents a big step forward: It’s explicit about the fact that the VAWA addresses and covers all survivors of violence, regardless of their sexual orientation; it makes improvements in long-standing provisions having to do with immigrant women and their access to services; and it better addresses the needs of survivors of domestic violence in Indian country." More>>

The Kathleen Dunn Show/Wisconsin Public Radio
Legal Momentum's Lisalyn Jacobs on the Kathleen Dunn Show on Wisconsin Public Radio. Lisalyn discusses the history of the Violence Against Women Act, it's provisions, and the Senate vote.

The Nation--Greg Kaufmann, 12/21/2012

This Week in Poverty: Single Mothers-'The Worst Off'

"I’d be hard pressed to come up with anyone who is doing more to shatter the myths about single mothers in the United States than Tim Casey, senior staff attorney at Legal Momentum, the nation’s oldest organization advocating on behalf of the legal rights of women and girls." More>>

Also Republished in BillMoyers.com

Legal Momentum's "Worst Off" report has been featured in:

Forbes, 01/04/2013 Bad Relationships Don't Stand in Poor Women's Way. Bad Policies Do.

The New York Times, 12/24/2012 Austerity for Posterity

Truthout-Thom Hartmann, 12/22/2012 On The News with Thom Hartmann

ThinkProgress.org, 12/20/2012 America Provides Far Less Support To Single Parents Than Other Wealthy Countries

About.com Is the U.S. the Worst Place to Be a Single Parent?

UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs Ph.D. Student Aids in Groundbreaking Study

Truthout, 10/16/2012

Skilled Women Break Through Barriers to Entry and Promotion in Trades Work

"When we bring cases, we are not just interested in getting justice for one woman," says Francoise Jacobsohn, project manager of Equality Works, Legal Momentum's program for women in nontraditional occupations. "We're interested in getting policy changes that will benefit women more generally." More>>

The Nation--Greg Kaufmann, 09/21/2012

#TalkPoverty: Tim Casey and Lisalyn Jacobs's Questions for Obama and Romney

"Here are Casey and Jacobs’s questions for President Obama and Governor Romney..." More >>

The Nation--Greg Kaufmann, 07/27/2012

This Week in Poverty:TANF, VAWA, and Playing Politics with the Lives of Low-Income People

“The House leadership’s Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) agenda seems to be much like its so-called economic agenda: it harms those who are weakest and those who need these programs the most.”

That’s how Lisalyn Jacobs, vice president for government relations at Legal Momentum—the nation’s oldest legal defense and education fund for women and girls—explains the flawed House VAWA bill and Speaker John Boehner’s refusal to reconcile it with a stronger, bipartisan Senate version. More>>

Salon, 05/17/2012

Leave Women Alone Act!

In These Times, 05/16/2012

Shame of the Nation: House VAWA Bill Ratchets Up Attacks on Domestic Violence Survivors

Lisalyn Jacobs of the advocacy group Legal Momentum told In These Times that “immigrant women are particularly economically vulnerable and may either be relying on their abusive partner's income, or in a marginal position themselves that prevents them from being economically stable enough to leave their violent partners.”

New York Times, 05/15/2012

Women and the New York Firefighter Exam

Legal Momentum's president Elizabeth Grayer's Letter to the Editor concerning the recent New York City firefighter's exam and the continuing lack of women represented in exam candidates. More >>

Salon, 04/27/2012

VAWA's Next Hurdle

“I knew there was a core of senators committed to a strong, inclusive reauthorization bill,” said Lisalyn Jacobs of Legal Momentum, who helped write the new provisions, “and in the end, that prevailed.” More >>

WBAI In Brief, 04/11/2012

Lynn Hecht Schafran speaks with Mimi Rosenberg, host of the In Brief segment of WBAI's "Wake Up Call" regarding violence and women. Link to the archived show is here.

The Indypendent, 03/30/2012

If I Had a Hammer

Françoise Jacobsohn, who heads the Equality Works Project for Legal Momentum, said, “There are lots of exciting things going on, along with the same old, same old.” More >>

WPIX 11 News, 03/29/2012

Confusion over Lack of Rape Conviction for Accused Cop

Salon, 03/20/2012

The Coming Fight over Violence Against Women

Mother Jones, 03/20/2012

Republicans Are Blocking the Violence Against Women Act

"While this is a bipartisan effort in this Congress, it's certainly a tougher slog than most of us expected," says Lisalyn Jacobs, vice president for government relations at the women's rights advocacy group Legal Momentum." More >>

The Nation--Gregg Kaufmann, 03/15/2012

This Week in Poverty: Me, Mom and Reagan                                         

"...a new report from Tim Casey, senior staff attorney at Legal Momentum—the nation’s oldest legal defense and education fund for women and girls—departs from this iconic portrayal of single moms." .... "Well, in this day and age it doesn’t take more than three days of reading a newspaper before you see some horrible article describing somebody whose estranged spouse or significant other showed up at their workplace and at minimum did them harm,” says Lisalyn Jacobs, vice president for government relations at Legal Momentum." More >>

WNYC The Takeaway, 03/15/2012                                                       

Once Bipartisan, Violence Against Women Act Now Faces Political Fight

"Joining us is Lynn Hecht Schafran, Senior Vice President of Legal Momentum, The Women's Legal Defense and Education Fund. Lynn was part of the team that helped then-Senator Joe Biden draft and pass the original bill in 1994.” More >>

 2011:

Detroit Free-Press, 11/9/11
Reported Incidents Down, but Sexual Harassment in Workplace Remains Prevalent
"'I don't think sexual harassment ever stopped being a problem,' said  Michelle Caiola, senior staff attorney at Legal Momentum, a women's legal defense and education fund based in New York." More >>

Reprinted at USA Today, 11/9/11
Fewer Report Being Sexually Harassed

HR Magazine, 10/1/11
Out of the Shadows
"More than 40 state laws provide some workplace protections for domestic abuse victims, ranging from mandated leave to prohibitions on firing of crime victims simply because they are victims. Currently, 34 states and the District of Columbia have laws providing unemployment insurance for abuse victims in certain situations, according to Lisalyn Jacobs, vice president for government relations at Legal Momentum, a women's advocacy group.

'Clearly, prevention is far less costly than responding to an issue once it's happened,' Jacobs says." More >>

MSNBC.com "Life, Inc." 9/16/11
Good Graph Friday: The High Cost of Single Parenthood
The article discusses the "economic toll of single parenthood" in relation to Legal Momentum's report on the 2010 Census poverty data, Women and Poverty in the United States, 2010  and our previous report, Poverty Rates for Single Mothers Are Higher in the U.S. than in Other High Income Countries. More >>

Feminist Law Professors, 9/16/11
Poverty and Single Mothers
The blog summarizes Women and Poverty in the United States, 2010  and links to the full report. More >>

"Wakeup Call," WBAI Radio, 9/15/11
Legal Momentum President Elizabeth Grayer discusses the new Census Bureau data that found that nearly one in six Americans are living in poverty.

• Download the mp3 file of Elizabeth Grayer on "Wakeup Call" here. Elizabeth's segment begins at 9:05.
• Listen to Elizabeth on "Wakeup Call" online here. The show aired on Thursday, September 15, 2011 at 7:00am. Elizabeth's segment begins at 9:05.

RFI: French Public Radio, 9/14/11
US Poverty Hits Record Levels
"'The Census data highlight the serious hardship facing many American families in the current economic crisis," said Elizabeth Grayer of women's campaign group Legal Momentum. 'The data indicate increased poverty and a continuing gender poverty gap in the United States, facts that underscore the need for a social safety net that is accessible and adequate.'"

"'The 40.7 per cent poverty rate for solo mother families was 68 per cent greater than the 24.2 per cent rate for solo father families,' a Legal Momentum memo said." More >>

The New York Times, 8/24/11
After Strauss-Kahn, Fear of Rape Victim Silence
"Lynn Hecht Schafran, senior vice president of Legal Momentum, a nonprofit legal advocacy organization for women and girls, said the Diallo case did have its uncommon aspects. The Manhattan district attorney’s office, she noted, went to 'unique lengths' to explain its reasoning in dropping the case. The unusual background, including prosecutors’ contention that Ms. Diallo repeatedly lied about her past, should not be a deterrent to other women, she said.

'Victims do not have to be pristine to be believed in court,' Ms. Schafran said." More>>

"Wakeup Call," WBAI Radio, 8/24/11
Legal Momentum Senior Staff Attorney Tim Casey discusses the failures of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, fifteen years after the program was enacted.

• Download the mp3 file of Tim Casey on "Wakeup Call" here. Tim's segment begins at 31:00.
• Listen to Tim on "Wakeup Call" online here. The show aired on Wednesday, August 24, 2011 at 7:00am. Tim's segment begins at 31:00.

Inter Press Service, 8/20/11
Rights Commission Rebukes U.S. on Domestic Violence
"Legal Momentum, a defence fund dedicated to protecting the rights of women and girls, urged 'the U.S. Government to adopt the IACHR's recommendations to ensure that local authorities protect victims of intimate partner violence and their children.'" More >>

People's World, 8/12/2011
Alabama’s Immigration Law is Hateful and Racist, Say Opponents
"According to Leslye E. Orloff, vice president and director with Legal Momentum Immigrant Women Program, the law does not take into consideration immigrants that are victims of crime.

'Every victim of child abuse, domestic and sexual assault or human trafficking are almost all at one point living in the U.S.,' notes Orloff. Such victims have been repeatedly protected under immigration laws but the Alabama law undermines these protections, she said. Alabama's police do not have the proper training or resources to address these types of issues, said Orloff. Victim support counselors, health workers and state offices could all be prosecuted under the new law for assisting immigrants that need vital services, she said." More >>

Christian Science Monitor, 7/22/11
Courtroom Skype Helps Reunite Mexican Families
"Over 100,000 undocumented parents of American-born children were removed from the US between 1998 and 2007, says Legal Momentum...Some US states have put children left behind into foster care, the fund says, and parents may have a difficult time regaining custody once they are deported." More >>

• Download the mp3 file of Lisalyn Jacobs on "Wakeup Call" here. Lisalyn's segment begins at 10:50.
• Listen to Lisalyn on "Wakeup Call" online here. The show aired on Tuesday, July 19, 2011 at 6:00am. Lisalyn's segment begins at 10:50.

Kansas City InfoZine, 7/7/11
Budget Cuts Hit Women Disproportionately Hard
"Tim Casey is a senior staff attorney at Legal Momentum. He said today: 'Many of the proposed cuts are most devastating to communities least able to afford them: women and families hardest hit during the economic downturn, including single parent families, pregnant women, and children.'" More>>

Hispanically-Speaking News, 7/4/11
DHS Program Needs Fundamental Reform to Reverse the Damage Done to Community Policing
"Victim advocate Leslye Orloff noted in Congressional testimony this year that only 19% of battered undocumented women are willing to report their abuse to police, and warned that 'the heightened fear of detention and deportation that increased immigration enforcement through 287(g) and Secure Communities is making it even less likely that immigrant victims will report and aid in the prosecution of rape and sexual assault.'" More >>

KLAS-TV 8 News (CBS Las Vegas), 6/28/11
Conference Addresses Immigrant Abuse
"Leslye Orloff was a presenter, and says immigrant victims suffer more severe abuse with more long-term consequences than to other survivors.

'We've seen cases of women working in employment situations where they are constantly being sexually harassed, raped, etcetera, and when they complain, they get fired. And then they bring in a whole other group of people,' she said." More >>

Women's eNews, 6/25/11
Wal-Mart Ruling Puts Big Chill on Female Workers
"Linda Basch and Elizabeth L. Grayer decried the decision in a June 23 joint column in the  Star Ledger and reminded readers of how many other underpaid women in the United States were, broadly speaking, represented by this suit.

'Women are still paid 77 cents to every dollar a man earns," they wrote. "And the cost of pay discrimination to women and their families has been estimated to average $500,000 over a lifetime, and as much as $2 million or more for professional women."' More >>

Huffington Post, 6/24/11
Women Three Times More Likely to Experience 'Overwhelming' Financial Stress: Survey
In the last decade, the poverty rate for children in single-mother households in the United States was 49 percent. That's 1.88 times more than the average poverty rate for children in 15 other high-income countries, according to Legal Momentum, a legal defense and education fund. More >>

Women's eNews, 6/21/11
Female Tradesworkers Run Special Safety Risks
"Françoise Jacobsohn is project manager of the Equality Works program at Legal Momentum...'Most women don't want to litigate,' said Jacobsohn. 'Women are willing to put up with a great deal of injustice to keep working. They know if they press issues, they will be shoved off of sites. There are real repercussions to speaking out in the trades.'" More >>

Imperial Valley News, 6/19/11
Dismal prospects for Imperial Valley Food Bank
"[H]unger relief advocates fear that if enacted, the House proposal would slash the number of people aided by food stamps by as much as two-thirds or more, according to Legal Momentum, a legal defense and education fund geared for the advancement of women and girls." More >>

• Download the mp3 file of Tim Casey on "City Watch" here. Tim's segment begins at 26:54.
• Listen to Tim Casey on "City Watch" online here. The show aired on Saturday, June 18, 2011 at 10:00pm. Tim's segment begins at 26:54.

Women's eNews, 6/4/11
Cheers and Jeers: Illinois OKs Gay Unions; Florida OKs Abortion Law
"The single mother poverty rate in the United States is the highest compared to 15 other high-income countries, according to a report by Legal Momentum."
"Legal Momentum announced May 31 it has filed an amicus curiae brief in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in support of the plaintiff in Pimentel v. Dreyfus. The plaintiff, a legal immigrant who was battered by her spouse, is challenging a decision by the State of Washington to end her state-funded food assistance." More >>

Women's eNews, 5/27/11
Isolation of Tradeswomen Melts at Rare Conference
Article about tradeswomen links to Legal Momentum's Equality Works program for more information. More >>

ProPublica, 5/19/11
Supervisors and Sexual Harassment: The Law’s Murkier Than You Think
"That’s why the government and anti-discrimination groups encourage people who believe they’re being harassed to inform the harasser directly that the advances, comments or conduct are unwelcome. Legal Momentum, a women’s rights group, warns the targets of harassment, 'Your legal claims can be hurt if you keep silent.'"

"Not all workers in the United States are covered by federal sexual harassment laws, however. The housekeeper with whom Schwarzenegger fathered a child out of wedlock, for instance, most likely was not. 'You have to have so many employees before you’re covered,' said Michelle Caiola, a senior attorney at Legal Momentum." More >>

Reprinted at the Tucson Sentinel, 5/19/11
Reprinted at Ground Report, 5/20/11
Reprinted at the  Knoxville News Sentinel, 5/23/11

The New York Times, 5/18/11
Letter to the Editor by Elizabeth Grayer
"We must re-examine our attitude toward sexual violence to ensure that victims report, perpetrators are brought to justice, and future victims are spared."
Available on Legal Momentum's website and in  The New York Times.

Women's eNews, 5/16/11
DNA Seen Key to Rape Charges Against IMF Chief
"Our estimates do not appear to support the widely held belief that rape has significantly declined in recent decades," Kilpatrick found, according to a summary on Legal Momentum." More >>

Poverty & Policy Blog, 5/12/11
Big Myths Used To Sell Food Stamp Block Grant
"But TANF caseloads didn’t expand when the economy cooled in the early 2000s. And, as Legal Momentum reports, only 6.6% more poor adults and children were added to the rolls during the first 19 months of the Great Recession." More>>

The New York Times "Economix" Blog, 5/9/11
Unemployed Mother's Day
"Concerted efforts to limit access and reduce benefits have made such welfare payments increasingly irrelevant to the actual welfare of single mothers and their children. A recent summary by the public-interest group Legal Momentum showed that program enrollment – more than 80 percent in 1995 – had declined to only about 40 percent of eligible families by 2005." More>>

Politico, 4/21/11
Families Still Need Safety Net
Legal Momentum President Elizabeth Grayer and Representative Gwen Moore (D-WI) co-authored an op-ed in Politico, advocating a stronger safety net for women and their families.
"Getting our country’s debt and deficit under control must be a top priority. But we can do it without cutting programs that are a lifeline for many families." More >>

Reprinted at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 4/21/11
Families Still Need Safety Net

Women's eNews, 4/12/11
Female Electricians Burn Out on Male Dominance
Legal Momentum's Equality Works Project Manager Françoise Jacobsohn discusses the challenges tradeswomen face in nontraditional jobs:
"'Most women do not file harassment claims. They have tons of legitimate complaints, but they want to work, not spend time in court'...She added that many tradeswomen only file when their livelihood is threatened." More >>

• Download the mp3 file of Lisalyn Jacobs on "Building Bridges" here. Lisalyn's segment begins at 27:10.
• Listen to Lisalyn Jacobs on "Building Bridges" online here. The show aired on Monday, April 11, 2011 at 7:00pm. Lisalyn's segment begins at 27:10.

Women's eNews, 4/7/11
Pro-Choice Demonstrators Join Budget Battle Today
"Legal Momentum...is urging lawmakers to reject all such amendments or riders in subsequent 2011 spending bills, rather than negotiating one harmful rider against another." More >>

 Dana Goldstein's Blog, 4/6/11
Why Are We Denying Welfare Moms an Education?
"As a new report from Legal Momentum makes clear, it remains extremely difficult for mothers on welfare to access the kind of education and training that lead to good jobs, the kind that pay a living wage and come with benefits such as paid sick leave and health insurance." More >>

Reprinted at Jezebel, 4/6/11
Why Are We Denying Welfare Moms an Education?

Feministing.com, 4/5/11
Welfare Reform at Age 15: A Failed Safety Net
"The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program was enacted in August 1996 to replace AFDC as the national welfare program. A new report from Legal Momentum outlines the crippling of the safety net for the poorest and most in need people in the US." More >>

Univision, 3/21/11
Visa U de Violencia Doméstica (Domestic Violence U Visa)
A story describing Legal Momentum and the Vera Institute for Justice's National Immigrant Victims Access to Justice Partnership, focusing on the Partnership's March 2011 law enforcement training in San Antonio. More >>

La Opinión/New American Media, 3/17/11
Abused and Deported: Immigrant Women Face Double Disgrace
"'The Department of National Security hasn’t been very effective in identifying victims of domestic violence, even those who have already gotten benefits, such as suspension of deportation under the law VAWA (Violence Against Women Act),' Leslye Orloff, director of the immigrant women’s program at Legal Momentum, said recently before Congress." More >>

SF Weekly, 3/16/11
U-Visa: Illegal Immigrants Become Legal Residents Via Crime Victimization
"If witnesses' pending visas are used against them in court, 'we go back to where we were before Congress created the U visa,' says Leslye Orloff, an attorney and vice president of Legal Momentum...who helped legislators craft the law. She says that means perpetrators may go unpunished: 'If defense attorneys make that decision [to mention the U visa in court], there may be more legislation needed to cut off their ability to do that.'" More >>

"Wakeup Call," WBAI Radio, 3/9/11
Lisalyn Jacobs, Legal Momentum's Vice President for Government Relations, discusses the devastating cuts in H.R. 1, the recently-passed House budget bill. Ms. Jacobs describes the programs slashed in H.R. 1, many of which are desperately needed by women and their families.

• Download the mp3 file of Lisalyn Jacobs on "Wakeup Call" here. Lisalyn's segment begins at 30:40.
• Listen to Lisalyn Jacobs on "Wakeup Call" online here. The show aired Wednesday, March 9, 2011 at 7:00am. Lisalyn's segment begins at 30:40.

Women's eNews, 3/5/11
Nepal OK's Abortion; Ongoing War on Women's Health
Legislation "has also been proposed that would impact not only women's health but also job training, education, housing and food programs, Legal Momentum, the women's legal defense and education fund, reported." More >>

Office of the New York Attorney General (Press Release), 3/4/11
A.G. Schneiderman Sues Mortuary School for Sexual Harassment and Pregnancy Discrimination
"Elizabeth Grayer, President of Legal Momentum, said: 'A policy that assumes, without consulting with the women or their physicians, that pregnant women should not be allowed to perform certain kinds of work creates an automatic barrier to economic opportunity. It is completely unjustified and illegal. I applaud Attorney General Schneiderman for protecting the rights of women to participate fully in educational opportunities and in the workforce.'" More >>

Southern Business Journal, 3/2/11
Celebrating Women's History Month
"The Women In Leadership of SIU School of Law gave me a beautiful interactive book entitled, 'Women: A Celebration of Strength,' published in 2007 by Legal Momentum...I want to share with you merely a few of the fascinating quotes and statistics that graced this amazing book." More >>

Huffington Post, 2/12/11
Immigrants Need the Violence Against Women Act -- Let's Stop Blaming the Victims
Rep. Raul Grijalva describes a Congressional hearing on Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) immigration protections with the testimony of Leslye Orloff, Director of Legal Momentum's Immigrant Women Program. More >>

Domestic Violence and the Workplace Blog, 2/10/11
"When You Solve Million Dollar Problems Every Day For A Living..."
The blog of the Executive Director of the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence (CAEPV) cites Legal Momentum's work on intimate partner violence and the workplace. More >>

Poverty & Policy Blog, 1/29/11
Harder Times for Single Mothers and Their Children
"Single-mother families are worse off than any other type of household by just about any measure you can imagine. And their bad situation has gotten worse since the recession set in. This we learn in detail from a new report by Legal Momentum..." More >>

Reprinted at Poverty Insights, 2/1/11
Harder Times for Single Mothers and Their Children

Detroit Examiner, 1/26/11
Obama´s Vision: A Country for All of Us -- and that Means All of Us!
"The DREAM Act is not an idea presented by a few.  It is a project supported by US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan,  numerous universities around the nation, as well as by a variety of unions, organizations, such as...Legal Momentum..." More >>

Women's eNews, 1/14/11
Grief, Hope Seizes U.S.; Other News Round-Up
"For the 1 in 4 U.S. families that are single mother families, joblessness has increased and access to welfare has decreased significantly since 2000, according to a report by Legal Momentum." More >>

Law Firm Chronicle, 1/2/11
Texas Students Start Hunger Strike in Support of DREAM Act and Against DADT Ban
"Support for the DREAM Act is coming from various people and organizations, including the National School Board Association (NSBA), the National Jewish Committee...Legal Momentum and MomsRising, and faculty and students from several universities all over the United States." More >>

Seventeen, December 2010-January 2011
Party Predators (full article available in Digital Edition for subscribers)
Seventeen featured a partial transcript of the National Judicial Education Program's DVD "The 'Undetected' Rapist" and related research in an article about intoxication and sexual assault.

Legal Momentum News from 2009 >>