What does it sound like when someone with a broken nose cries? If you don't know, then you are very lucky. For many, the sound is something they became intimately acquainted with -- the sound of breath rasping through their own or someone they love's smashed bones.
A broken nose may be the product of any number of bad situations; maybe you missed the catch; maybe there were too many people at that last concert; or, maybe you are one of more than 10 million people who are abused by intimate partners each year in the United States. Conventional wisdom might hold that more women are victims of domestic violence on Super Bowl Sunday than any other day of the year, and that acts of domestic violence are more prevalent throughout the holidays.
Reports say this conventional wisdom may be a myth. But regardless of whether domestic violence increases over the holidays, or soars on Super Bowl Sunday, we know that it happens in communities across America every day. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in the United States 20 people per minute are victims of physical violence by an intimate partner.
Abuse does not let up unless victims have a way out; and the way out probably includes legal assistance. In fact, Vice President Joe Biden has said, "Research tells us that effective legal representation is the single most important factor in whether victims are able to escape this domestic violence cycle."
For low-income victims of domestic violence, legal help, when it is available, comes in the form of civil legal aid. Civil legal aid is a combination of services and resources -- including pro bono - that helps Americans of all backgrounds -- including those who face the toughest legal challenges: children, veterans, seniors, ill or disabled people, and victims of domestic violence -- navigate the justice system. Civil legal aid helps ensure fairness for all in the justice system, regardless of how much money a person has.
Research shows that civil legal aid is one of the most effective strategies to help victims successfully leave abusive relationships and build new lives. A 2015 report from the Institute for Policy Integrity explains how access to legal assistance improves the likelihood that women will be able to obtain protective orders from courts, which is a significant factor in reducing rates of domestic violence.
While abusers may face criminal charges, many remain free to continue the abuse. By providing a deterrent to further abuse, protective orders literally save lives. But victims of domestic violence are not guaranteed legal assistance to obtain one of these life-saving orders. This is true even though getting a protective order requires legal expertise, expertise that most victims of domestic violence simply do not have and cannot afford.
Working as a volunteer at Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County (NLS), a civil legal aid organization, I see the impact of restraining orders first-hand. At NLS's restraining order clinic, I helped Kate (not her real name), a young woman who had been through the gauntlet -- she suffered from severe manic depression, she had no place to live in California, and she had no money to afford an attorney. Her ex-boyfriend had stolen her money, smashed her only pair of glasses and broken her nose. Kate desperately needed aid -- she could not stop crying, she had a difficult time expressing a coherent story, and she certainly could not afford attorneys fees.
Fortunately, I was able to help express her story in her request for a restraining order, and to link her to psychological services for domestic violence victims. While Kate took the time to describe to me the violent incidents that led her to seek a restraining order, there were a number of volunteers and staff attorneys at the clinic that day to help others who also needed legal help. I could never have spent three hours writing Kate's heartbreaking request for a restraining order if there hadn't been so many pro bono attorneys and legal aid staff there assisting the other women who needed restraining orders.
At the end of our meeting, Kate looked at me and said, "Thank you. No one else has treated me like a human being." Through our entire exchange, this woman had been nothing but kind and humorous -- making jokes out of her terrible situation. She had tears in her eyes, thanking me, simply because I had taken the time to listen and help instead of brushing her off or treating her with disrespect.
Everyone deserves to be treated like their case matters. As a busy law student, I have almost no free time; but a few hours of my time may have been the difference between life and death for the woman I helped. Seeing the impact civil legal aid attorney can make in cases like hers has prompted me to pursue a career in family law.
Not all of us are lucky enough to breathe freely during the holidays, on Super Bowl Sunday, and every other day of the year. The victims of domestic violence in communities across the U.S. deserve legal assistance so that to ensure they are safe and secure. Civil legal aid organizations need more volunteer attorneys and law students to devote a few hours helping victims navigate the process of getting a restraining order. Let us who are able lend our support to those who need our expertise. I urge you to volunteer at clinics, donate money, and reach out to those in your life who may be affected by domestic violence.
Getting educated about how you can help victims of domestic violence is as easy as visiting a website during a Super Bowl commercial. And, there are numerous opportunities to volunteer--just contact your local legal aid office or bar association to find out how.
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Stephanie Rector is a J.D. candidate, Class of 2017, at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. She has been a legal intern at Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County and California Women's Law Center.
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Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.