Law Students Will Aid Battered Women

A new Law School program is training students to serve as legal advocates for women seeking safety from abusive husbands through the courts, organizers said last week.

The Battered Women's Advocacy Project, begun by two law students last November, instructs volunteers from the Law School on informal court intervention for women who may be unaware of legal options or too frightened to act.

"Women are often so traumatized by battering and the experience of being in court that they cannot speak for themselves," said program co-founder Sarah Buel.

The student-run program, organized by the Harvard Women's Law Association (WLA), so far has attracted 78 students to two training sessions, program co-founder Suzanne Groisser said. That total includes 10 men, said Groisser, who is a first-year student. Another 20 to 40 students are expected to attend a third session, she said.

Advocates, unlike lawyers, cannot represent clients or make legal arguments in court. Instead, advocates informally intervene on behalf of individual victims to obtain restraining orders, usually by presenting relevant facts before the presiding judge. Advocates also provide additional support to women, such as emotional support or help completing legal forms.

Advocates typically secure temporary, five-day restraining orders for women which prohibit their husbands from approaching them. Year-long orders can be obtained following that period.

Students who volunteer in the Law School program participate in two-hour training courses, taught by Buel and Groisser. The trainees receive legal instruction and suggestions on how to work with battered women through student-compiled manuals based on police guidelines.

Students then hold mock trials to test their skills, and observe experienced advocates at local courts. Once trained, advocates go to court and stand by for women who come to obtain restraining orders, Buel said.

"It really is important to seek out and follow up on these women," said Buel, a second-year student, "because without support many will return to their husbands and their lives the way they were. They often do not know about the remedies available to them."

Advocates can also help women obtain child custody and support orders or specific child visitation rights.

Students in the advocacy program face the same difficulties as others who work for abused women, Buel said. For example, judges often hold double standards when women seek vacancy orders to force abusive husbands to leave their homes, she said. But judges may be reluctant to grant vacancy orders even though victims can be left homeless, said Buel, who has worked for battered women for 12 years.

"They will ask the women, 'Where will your husband live if he is turned out of his house?' There is no other area of the law where the victim is supposed to worry about where the offender will stay," she added.

The women's advocacy program is one of several WLA public service activities, including the Children and FamilyAssistance Project. Most legal advocates arefull-time employees of privately-run shelters forbattered women. The Law School program intends toexpand and seek referrals from the shelters,Groisser said