Join our drive to gather 5,000 supporters of the Domestic Violence Volunteer Attorney Network. Sign the petition. Donate Now. This October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, JWI needs your help to fix a critical problem with our legal system. This problem is tragically illustrated by Sonia Long, who filed a restraining order last August against the man she was divorcing after her 6-year-old daughter said she thought “Daddy is gonna kill (us).” As reported by the Charlotte Observer, a week later Sonia briefly left the battered women’s shelter where she was hiding to retrieve her kids’ birth certificates from home – where her husband Anthony was waiting and where police later found her body. Why was Anthony still living in the house? The judge who issued the restraining order allowed him to stay because she’d seen insufficient evidence of the threat he posed to Sonia’s life.The judge could rule only on the evidence at hand; according to reports, she did not have enough documented evidence of Anthony’s criminal and abusive history – such as photographs of bruises; reports of each violent incident; conviction records – which could have meant the difference between life and death. We are too late for Sonia, but there are thousands more abused women who are dangerously uninformed about the legal system. These women are in dire need of trained domestic violence attorneys who can advocate for them in court. With your support, we can fix what’s broken: we can connect women to legal knowledge and representation that could save their lives. During Domestic Violence Awareness Month, JWI is launching the Legal Project to empower abuse victims to both look after their own safety and interests, and to find affordable attorneys equipped to do the same. At the same time, legislation is now pending in the U.S. Senate to create a network of volunteer attorneys who will represent domestic violence victims. Sign on to JWIs nationwide petition drive to gather 5,000 names. You’ll receive updates as the bill moves through Congress, and its co-sponsors -- Senators Joe Biden and Arlen Specter -- will see measurable evidence of its broad support. Take action today. Sign our petition. Support legislation to create a volunteer attorney network. Donate now. Help JWI bring resources and legal support to women in need. Thank you for your support! Loribeth Weinstein Executive Director 


http://www.jwi.org/site/c.okLWJ3MPKtH/b.3358295/k.A8C2/Sign_our_petition/apps/ka/ct/contactus.asp?c=okLWJ3MPKtH&b=3358295&en=fqJFJPOyFgIJLUPBK6IEKYOKIiJLK2ODIbJOI5NMJuF