Legal Momentum In Brief, June 2010

On 38th Anniversary of Title IX, Legal Momentum Works to Ensure Equal Opportunity in All Fields

June marked the 38th anniversary of the passage of Title IX, the landmark equality in education legislation. Though most commonly associated with expanding the breadth of women's athletics, the
law's importance extends far beyond playing fields. On the anniversary of Title IX, Legal Momentum continues to use the law's protections to ensure that low income girls have equal access to educational opportunities which will improve their personal and economic security after graduation. Through outreach and education Legal Momentum's Pipeline Project works to increase in the number of young women in vocational schools and training programs for higher-wage jobs in construction trades, and ensures that these schools provide supportive, discrimination-free environments for women students.

Read Legal Momentum's statement on the 38th anniversary of Title IX from Legal Momentum Briefing Room.

Read Legal Momentum's pamphlet, Ensuring the Economic and Personal Security of Women and Girls.

Learn about Legal Momentum's Equality Works program.

Legal Momentum Files Amicus Curiae Brief in Effort to Block Arizona's SB 1070

Drawing attention to the potentially devastating impact of Arizona's stringent immigration legislation on immigrant women's safety, Legal Momentum's Immigrant Women Program filed an amicus curiae brief in support of a lawsuit, Friendly House v. Whiting, to block implementation of the contentious law, S.B. 1070. The brief outlines key areas where Arizona's new law undermines federal civil rights protections for immigrant women and their families, including those who are victims of violent crime and domestic abuse. Likewise, the brief illustrates how SB 1070 undermines decades of humanitarian incentives enacted by the U.S. Congress to protect the health and safety of all people living in the United States, regardless of legal status.

Read Legal Momentum's amicus curiae brief.

Learn more about S.B. 1070 from Legal Momentum Briefing Room.

Read President of Legal Momentum, Irasema Garza's column in The Huffington Post, Arizona Law Compounds Women's Vulnerability.

U.S. Department of Justice: Same-Sex Couples Are Covered by the Violence Against Women Act

Gay couples fall within the scope of the protections of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the Justice Department has clarified. Federal prosecutors may use the law in cases of interstate stalking and domestic violence, regardless of the victim or defendant's sex. Legal Momentum was integral in the original passage of VAWA in 1994, and continues to spearhead reauthorizations of this landmark legislation. Despite the efforts of Legal Momentum and other sister organization to clearly extend its protections to gays and lesbians, VAWA legislation did not specifically address the enforcement of the law in same-sex relationships. "It is true that the statute is entitled the Violence Against Women Act, but other provisions of the Act make clear it applies to conduct perpetrated against male, as well as female, victims," the Department of Justice stated, clearly making important protections available to all victims of violence, regardless of their gender or that of a perpetrator.

Read more about the Justice Department's clarification from Legal Momentum Briefing Room.

Read Gay Couples Gain Under Violence Against Women Act from The New York Times.

Learn more about Legal Momentum's work on the VAWA.

Department of Education Extends Financial Aid Eligibility to Vulnerable Class of Immigrants

The Department of Education recently released a "Dear Colleague" letter definitively stating that battered immigrants are eligible for financial aid under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Over the last two years, Legal Momentum repeatedly urged the Department of Education to clarify the financial aid eligibility of "Battered Immigrants-Qualified Aliens." The announcement ensures access to critical resources for immigrant victims of violence looking to improve their economic and personal security through education.

Legal Momentum continues to advocate for legislation that will extend these vital opportunities to other vulnerable classes of immigrants. In particular, we are currently working to get the Department of Education to recognize U-Visa immigrants (victims of domestic abuse or other crimes) as eligible for financial aid. Allowing "Battered Immigrants-Qualified Aliens" and U-Visa recipients to qualify for financial aid not only ensures fair access to education and federal benefits for all who are eligible, but places those immigrant victims on a path to independence and safety.

Read the Department of Education's "Dear Colleague" letter Student Aid Eligibility-Eligibility for Title IV Aid for 'Battered Immigrants-Qualified Aliens' as provided for in the Violence Against Women Act.

Learn about Legal Momentum's work on the U-Visa.

Law Enforcement Mishandling of Rape and Sexual Assault Victims is a National Problem

In June, Legal Momentum highlighted the repeated failures of U.S. law enforcement to appropriately handle rape and sexual assault cases. The case of Sara Reedy, currently before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Pennsylvania, offers a disturbing illustration of these failures. After Reedy was robbed and raped at gunpoint in the convenience store where she worked, the detective assigned to the case accused her of lying and imprisoned her for five days for false reporting and theft. Her assailant went on to rape two other women in the locality using the same MO.

Law enforcement's mishandling of sex assault cases is particularly disconcerting because of the abundance of training materials designed specifically to educate law enforcement as well as other professionals about sexual assault. A major component of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which Legal Momentum helped to draft and pass, provides funds to educate medical professionals, victim's advocates, law enforcement, prosecutors and judges. Cases such as Leedy's graphically illustrate the importance of ongoing education and training to encourage police departments to act responsibly, professionally and sensitively when handling cases of rape and sexual assault, for the good of victims and the safety of communities.

Read more about law enforcement's mishandling of rape and sexual assault cases from Legal Momentum Briefing Room.

Read John Eligon's articles 4 Victims of Sex Assault Tell of Treatment by Police and Panel Seeks More Police Training on Sex Crimes from The New York Times.

New York Senate Passes Bill to Give Workplace Protections to Domestic Workers

This month, New York took a major step towards ensuring basic workplace protection for domestic workers. The bill-passed by the state Senate on June 1st and currently in the process of being reconciled with a previously passed Assembly bill-will grant New York's many nannies, housekeepers and other household staff basic rights which are often ignored by their private employers. Domestic workers would receive paid holidays, sick days, vacation days, and overtime wages. Employers would also be required to give 14 days' notice, or termination pay, before firing a domestic worker. The landmark bill would be the first of its kind in the nation. In addition, this bill is a major victory and critical step towards the protection of domestic workers, the vast majority of whom are women, within the workplace.

Read For Nannies, Hope for Workplace Protection from The New York Times.