For over 50 years, LM has led innovative legal and policy solutions to address and prevent gender-based violence.
Gender-based violence takes many forms and victims and survivors suffer consequences in many facets of their lives. Victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking experience physical, economic, and psychological repercussions.
We advance laws and policies that protect survivors and hold perpetrators accountable.
Our work focuses on ensuring that the systems addressing gender-based violence are trauma-informed and free of bias.
Technology-facilitated abuse
The prevalence of social media and the speed at which technology advances has resulted in new ways for offenders to commit gender-based violence. We advocate for the law to advance in equal measure to prevent and protect survivors from tech-based violence and harassment.
Legal Impact Strategies
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
Our commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of VAWA
We were instrumental in drafting and passing the landmark Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 1994 and continue to hold a leadership role in subsequent reauthorizations. Each reauthorization deepens our understanding of the experiences and unique needs of survivors, and we refine our recommendations to expand protections and services for survivors and advocates.
Litigation
Survivors often encounter discrimination and legal issues. For some, the legal system is foreclosed due to the threat to their safety if their name were to appear in a publicly-accessible case title. We bring cases that break down barriers to their ability to work safely, obtain economic independence, and assert their right to feel safe and supported when accessing the justice system.
View our amicus briefs on violence against women
Legislation
We draft and support legislation at the national, state, and local levels to close legal gaps and strengthen protections for survivors in areas such as employment and housing, promoting their recovery and supporting their future.
Education
We advance public and professional education about violence against women through several of our programs:
- The National Judicial Education Program (NJEP) educates justice system professionals about the realities of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and intimate partner sexual abuse in order to promote fair adjudication.
- Our Rights Now! program empowers youth to educate their peers on their legal rights, including rights related to Title IX, tech-based violence, dating violence, and more.
- Our Women Valued Initiative informs women of their legal rights in the workplace, including rights specific to survivors of gender-based violence.
