(Posted 2021 October, updated July 2024)
Tahirih Justice Center Supports Immigrant Survivors Fleeing Violent Relationships
The Tahirih Justice Center (Tahirih) is a national, nonprofit organization that serves women, girls, and other immigrant survivors fleeing gender-based violence. Tahirih’s offices are based out of San Bruno, California; Houston; Atlanta; and a regional office that serves Virginia, Washington, D.C.; and Baltimore, Maryland. Their interdisciplinary, trauma-informed model of service combines free legal services and social services case management with bridge-building policy advocacy and research-based training and education. Tahirih’s programs leverage donated professional services from a vast network of attorneys, medical professionals, and other experts to serve as many immigrant survivors as possible.
By amplifying the experiences of survivors in communities, courts, and Congress, Tahirih’s mission is to create a world in which all people share equal rights and live in safety and with dignity, helping the organization’s mission dovetail with those of the Domestic Violence Action Center (DVAC), making their partnership an asset.
“We both have benefited from the partnership,” says Hellitz Villegas, who manages Tahirih’s Forced Marriage Initiative out of the Virginia office. “It likely was one of those ‘we’re here, let’s make sure we all know about resources’ [we can share]. We’ve provided training and legal rights issues related to immigrants. We’ve had pretty intensive training from Domestic and Sexual Violence staff on stalking. It’s a partnership with lots of training, lots of relying on each other for our expertise and a lot of client referrals. Whenever you can get firsthand knowledge from a program you partner with, it just makes the rapport with survivors so much easier.”
Angela Yeboah, DSVS’ Advocacy Services program manager, agrees. “Our partnership provides us the opportunity to efficiently connect clients with comprehensive services through trauma-informed direct referrals.”
Currently, Tahirih’s Forced Marriage Initiative (FMI), established in 2011 to galvanize a national response to the issue of forced marriage in this country, is celebrating the end of child marriage in Virginia. A forced marriage is one where one or both parties do not or cannot consent to the marriage, and typically involves elements of force, fraud, or coercion. The FMI team provides free long-term case management services to survivors of forced marriage or individuals at risk of all ages and backgrounds, as well as training and technical assistance for service providers. The FMI is a national training and technical assistance provider for the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women.
“We look forward to continuing to partner with Fairfax County service providers to ensure the needs of survivors and those at risk of forced marriage are appropriately met,” Villegas says.
Immigrant survivors of gender-based violence in need of legal representation or guidance can contact Tahirih’s centralized call line at (866) 575-0071 Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. local time. Service providers can email for training, technical assistance, and one-on-one support. Get more information on Tahirih’s work to end child marriage or sign up for their bimonthly newsletter.
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Learn more about the Domestic and Sexual Violence Services (DSVS).