The Legal Project Announces a New
Military and Domestic Violence Legal Assistance Program

The Legal Project, a not-for-profit civil legal services program in Albany, NY, recently received a federal grant, with support from Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton, and Representatives Michael McNulty and Kirsten Gillibrand, to implement a unique program to provide pro bono legal help to victims of domestic violence, including sexual abuse, whose abuser is in the military service or if the victim herself is in the military. As a result of a number of high profile incidents of violence against women in the military and efforts such as the Defense Task Force on Domestic Violence, there is increased awareness of the problem of violence against women in the military.

Victims who are either active or veteran members or are spouses of military personnel are particularly vulnerable to such abuse, given their isolation—both geographically and socially. According to the Miles Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides services to victims of abuse associated with the military; the majority of victims are women civilians, partnered with active duty personnel. Since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, an increasing number of military personnel on active duty or discharged are members of the National Guard, with their spouses remaining in their home communities, but without funds or support for legal help with the abuse.

Victims are in dire need of civil legal assistance for orders of protection, child custody and divorce, and there must be effective coordination between the military and civilian justice systems. For example, military protection orders can be obtained by victims whose partner is on active duty, but these are not enforceable off of the military bases, thus a civilian order of protection is critical for victims to obtain. Most civil attorneys are unaware of the complexities of military law related to intimate partner violence, thus this program would assist in providing support for attorneys in their efforts to represent victims in these situations, as well as provide direct representation to victims in the greater Capital Region of New York State.

The project has three main purposes:

1. to provide technical assistance to civil legal attorneys across New York State who are representing victims of domestic violence who are either active or veterans in the military service or are partnered with active or veteran members;
   
   
2. to provide free civil legal consultations by phone or in-person, to such victims of abuse seeking civil legal remedies; and,
   
   
3. to expand our current domestic violence and civil legal services pro bono program to support the activities of our staff of civil legal attorneys and pro bono attorneys to provide free legal services to victims of domestic violence in the Greater Capital District of New York who are members of the military or whose spouses/partners are members of the military, who are seeking protection in the Family Courts or seeking to divorce their abusive partner.

This program would be a model for other states to provide this increasingly important service to military families. There are many unique legal issues and obstacles that face victims in the military or family members, and our staff will have the expertise to understand and navigate both military law and regulations and New York State civil law. Outreach will be provided to the military bases and Family Advocacy Centers across New York.

It is critical that programs like this be developed to respond to the influx of returning military personnel and their families when faced with abuse and control by the returning veteran, whose behavior may well have been exacerbated by their horrific experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. We will design this program to be a model for other states in their efforts to respond to victims associated with military service. For more information, please contact Lisa A. Frisch, Executive Director at 518-435-1770 or lfrisch@legalproject.org.