Home : Women's Rights : Violence Against Women

Domestic Violence Survivor Goes Before International Tribunal
In the first case brought by a survivor of domestic violence against the U.S. before an international human rights tribunal, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights heard testimony on October 22, 2008, by Jessica Lenahan (formerly Gonzales), whose three daughters were abducted by her estranged husband and killed after the Colorado police refused to enforce a restraining order against him. In 2005, Lenahan’s domestic violence protection claims were rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court.
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> Gonzales v. USA

Title IX and Sexual Violence in Schools
Sexual violence in schools and on campus is a pressing civil rights issue: when students suffer sexual assault and harassment, they are deprived of equal and free access to an education. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or activity that receives federal funding. Title IX is a powerful tool for students who want to combat sexual assault, including rape, and sexual harassment at school and on college campuses.
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> Title IX and Sexual Violence in Schools

Court Orders Alabama Property Manager And Landlord To Pay Damages For Sexual Harassment Of Tenant (06/02/2009)
MONTGOMERY, AL – A federal court in Alabama ordered that a real estate agent and the owner of rental units the agent managed in Montgomery, Alabama, must pay damages to a low-income renter for sexual harassment. The agent had repeatedly tried to coerce the renter into having sex with him and then raised her rent and attempted to evict her when she refused. The ruling from the U.S. District Court in the Middle District of Alabama came late yesterday.

Colorado Domestic Violence Survivor Seeks Justice In International Tribunal (10/22/2008)
WASHINGTON – In the first case brought by a survivor of domestic violence against the U.S. before an international human rights tribunal, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) will hear testimony today by Jessica Lenahan (formerly Gonzales), whose three daughters were kidnapped by her estranged husband and killed.

Domestic Violence Survivor Asks International Tribunal To Hold U.S. Responsible For Human Rights Violations (03/25/2008)
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union and Columbia Law School's Human Rights Clinic filed a merits brief with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) detailing their charges that the U.S. broke international law in violating the human rights of a domestic violence survivor. The brief was filed on behalf of Jessica Lenahan (formerly Gonzales), whose three daughters were kidnapped by her estranged husband and killed, and whose domestic violence protection claims were rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court.

ACLU Calls for Greater Congressional Oversight of HUD and its Failure to Meet its Obligations Under VAWA (03/11/2008)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties today called on Congress to examine the failure of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to fully implement the requirements of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) as it relates to victims of domestic violence. The House Financial Services Committee and Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee are slated to begin oversight hearings of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) this week. The ACLU urges these committees to ask HUD why it leaves battered women and children out in the cold.

Private Housing Company Won’t Evict Domestic Violence Victims After ACLU Lawsuit (02/26/2008)
DETROIT – A groundbreaking settlement agreement finalized today between a domestic violence survivor, a private housing complex and a property management company offers victims of domestic violence, stalking, date rape and sexual assault far reaching protections from eviction and discrimination. This is the first settlement of its kind that applies to private housing.

Conozca sus derechos respecto de la vivienda: Para sobrevivientes de la violencia doméstica (02/06/2008)

Know Your Housing Rights: For Survivors of Domestic Violence (02/06/2008)

Fair Housing for Battered Women: Preventing Homelessness Through Civil Rights Laws (07/28/2006)
An article by WRP Deputy Director Emily J. Martin discussing new protections against the eviction of domestic violence survivors provided by the Violence Against Women Act of 2005.

Domestic Violence and Public and Subsidized Housing (03/03/2005)
Article by Emily Martin addressing the needs of battered tenants through local housing policy.

Boswell v. GumBayTay, et al. - Default Judgment Against Defendant Matthew W. Bahr (06/01/2009)

Boswell v. GumBayTay, et al. - Disqualification of Alfred T. Newell IV (06/01/2009)

Boswell v. GumBayTay, et al. - Default Judgment Against Defendant Jamarlo K. GumBayTay (06/01/2009)

Boswell v. GumBayTay, et al. - Amended Complaint (06/01/2009)

Boswell v. GumBayTay, et al. - Defendant Jamarlo K. GumBayTay's Civil Contempt (06/01/2009)

ACLU Statement in Support of Senate Hearing on Violence Against Women Act (06/25/2009)
On behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”) and its more than half a million members and activists and 53 affiliates nationwide, we applaud your leadership in convening this hearing to examine the benefits the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) has conferred upon women and families across the country since its passage. Such a hearing begins an important discussion that will culminate, next year, in a stronger, reauthorized VAWA. We write to express our support for the Committee’s attention to this legislation and look forward to working with the Committee as it moves to improve the protections for and rights of survivors of domestic violence.

ACLU Statement in Support of Senate Hearing on Violence Against Women Act (06/25/2009)

ACLU Comments to HUD regarding SSN Requirements (03/12/2009)

ACLU Coalition Comments to HUD regarding the VAWA Interim Rule (01/27/2009)

ACLU FOIA Request and HUD Response regarding HUD’s Implementation of the Violence Against Women Act and Treatment of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking in Public and Section 8 Housing (09/08/2008)

Jessica Gonzales v. USA - Amicus Briefs Submitted for October 2008 Merits Hearing (10/21/2008)

Achieving Fair Housing for Survivors through Domestic Violence Housing Policies: Lewis v. North End Village (03/26/2008)
Article by Sandra S. Park, Staff Attorney in the ACLU Women’s Rights Project, about a groundbreaking settlement in February 2008, in which a Michigan landlord and management company agreed to adopt a comprehensive policy on domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, including anti-discrimination protections and the options of early lease termination and/or relocation.

Model Advocacy Letter to Public Housing Authority (02/06/2008)

Violence Against Women : Housing (12/31/2007)

Violence Against Women : Protective Orders and Government Accountability (12/31/2007)

Violencia doméstica y carencia de vivienda (02/06/2008)

La discriminación en la vivienda y la violencia doméstica (02/06/2008)

The Rights of Domestic Violence Survivors in Public and Subsidized Housing (02/06/2008)

Housing Discrimination and Domestic Violence (02/06/2008)

Los derechos de los sobrevivientes de la violencia doméstica ante la vivienda pública y subsidiada (02/06/2008)

Fitzgerald v. Barnstable School Committee (08/29/2008)
Whether Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which generally prohibits sex discrimination in federally-funded schools, bars public school students from also challenging sex discrimination as a violation of the Constitution.DECIDED

Lewis v. North End Village, et al. (02/21/2007)
WRP filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a domestic violence victim who faced eviction from her private apartment due to property damage caused by her abuser.

Boswell v. GumBayTay, et al. (02/14/2007)
WRP filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a tenant who was sexually harassed by her housing manager.

Bouley v. Young-Sabourin (04/18/2005)
WRP submitted an amicus brief in a federal lawsuit brought by a woman who received an eviction notice after her husband was arrested for assault.

Warren v. Ypsilanti Housing Commission (02/06/2002)
The ACLU represented a domestic violence victim who was threatened with eviction from public housing.

Alvera v. CBM Group, Inc., et al. (06/01/2001)
WRP co-counseled the first case to challenge the application of “zero-tolerance for violence” policies to victims of domestic violence.