A small group of Law School students have recently organized a program to raise awareness in the Charlottesville community about domestic violence and assist the increasing number of victims in the area.
The students, led by third-year Law student Cristi Head, have established the Domestic Violence Project, which works with the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society to support the victims of domestic violence.
"Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior to maintain power or control over a partner in the context of intimate or family relationship," said Anne Trainor, a case manager for the Charlottesville Shelter for Help in Emergency.
Trainor added that this abuse can be sexual, mental or physical, and that it occurs among families of all races, religions and classes.
Four students work with the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society this year, as opposed to the six students last semester. According to Senior Staff Attorney Lily Patel, three of the four students worked with the program last semester.
Third-year College student Neil Dermody, the only undergraduate student volunteer, said the Domestic Violence Project gives students an opportunity to serve a group of people that is not generally served by the student population.
"The work that the project does helps out a subset of the population that U.Va. students don't typically come in contact with on a daily basis," Dermody said. "This is an area of the community that desperately needs help."
The students concentrate on the civil side of domestic violence -- helping the victim, Patel said.
Services offered include filing protective orders through the court and helping with divorce and spousal support cases, along with child support and child custody cases.
While one woman falls victim to an act of domestic violence every nine seconds, there is only one support program for every 2,200 battered women, Trainor said, noting that such statistics are the reason that these projects need to grow.
"There is definitely a need for expansion," Trainor added.
Such expansion is where the Law students will help fill in. Women's resources are limited, partly due to the financial control that comes with domestic violence.
The Central Virginia Legal Aid Society offers support to anyone under 125 percent of the federal poverty line and grants free legal aid to those who qualify as long as personnel is available. It gets about five referrals each month from Trainor and the Shelter for Help in Emergency, and sometimes less because of the already overwhelming caseload, Trainor said.
Lily Patel offered praise for the students who work with the program.
"The students have been very competent and helpful," Patel said. "Every little bit of help we can get is great."
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