other legal redress. One of the many immediate needs for legal assistance is for
volunteer attorneys to assist in filing and assisting the victim in obtaining an Order of Protection.10
Currently, MALS has
one staff attorney, Shayla Purifoy, to provide no-cost services for qualifying victims seeking an Order of Protection. Right now, the services she provides are only available to immigrant complainants. She identifies and describes with eloquence the need for attorney representation in this area as follows: “[Te Order of Protection is] one of the most effective ways
to end or prevent domestic violence through the successful intervention of the Court system. Te need we identify here is for lawyers to step up to provide much needed representation to victims of domestic violence who seek the protection of the court system.
…[A]busers use isolation as a tool to control
victims. Oftentimes victims do not have friends or family supporting them when they make the decision to leave. To ask a victim who may have been sexually or physically abused to face her abuser in court alone is bad enough. Asking a victim to face her abuser and his aggressive lawyer is even worse because the victim will most likely be re-victimized. And if the victim is abused in the future, there will be no incentive to ask for help or report it. We need lawyers to see that this is a community issue, not just a private family matter and to recognize the overwhelming cost to our community of this type of crime. Lawyers can provide the much-needed help to victims to take a stand and help put a stop to the violence. Every time a victim goes into court scared, unprepared, and leaves feeling further traumatized, we have let that person
down and the cost to the community grows exponentially each and every time a victim doesn’t receive the protection that the Court system can provide.” Te forms for a Petition for Order for Protection and
related documents are available on the Tennessee Court’s website.11
In addition, the same website identifies other legal
tools available for those representing victims of domestic violence under a list of “Frequently Asked Questions.”12 As employers, law firms can learn how to identify and
address domestic violence in the workplace and implement such programs: To learn how, attend a community workshop, “Violence
at Home. Victims at Work. Employers Confront Domestic Violence” scheduled January 24, 2014, at the Urban Child Institute. Local leaders from business, law, education and criminal justice will explore the impact of intimate partner violence on victims, on perpetrators and on the workplace where both victims and batterers might be employed. Tis workshop is for employers of every size and type: government, business, medical, retail and more. Participants in the 2013 workshops included Memphis and Shelby County government officials, Methodist LeBonheur, Baptist Memorial, Tennessee Board of Pardons and Parole, Juvenile Court, Clarion Security, Cummins MidSouth, MIFA, Brother Industries, Medtronic, Buckman and First Bank. Te conference and the campaign equip employers to
recognize when employees are struggling with domestic violence, respond compassionately and refer to appropriate community services. Dr. Carol Danehower, University of
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