Legal Advocates for Abused Women – About LAAW
What is LAAW?
Mission Statement
Legal Advocates for Abused Women (LAAW) is dedicated to helping victims of abuse during times of crisis, working within the legal system, law enforcement, and the courts.
LAAW is a local domestic violence organization in the greater St. Louis area that provides crisis intervention and support, legal information and advocacy, safety planning, and legal and social service referrals for victims of abuse (primarily low income women and their children) who have been battered, stalked or harassed. In addition, LAAW specializes in providing free legal representation at Order of Protection hearings for low income victims of abuse. LAAW serves St. Louis City and the Counties of St. Louis, St. Charles, Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Warren, and Washington.
Legal Advocates for Abused Women (LAAW)…
…is dedicated to helping victims of abuse in times of crisis, working within the legal system, law enforcement and the courts.
…is an independent not-for-profit domestic violence organization in the St. Louis area that provides crisis intervention and support, legal information and advocacy, safety planning, and legal and social service referrals for victims of abuse who have been battered, stalked or harassed.
…specializes in providing free legal representation at Order of Protection hearings for low-income battered women & their children.
…since 1995:
- Responded 46,000 times to victims of abuse in times of crisis
- Twenty-six staff members – 19 provide direct service meaning your donation goes directly to helping battered women & their children
- 4,000 Cases of Free Legal Representation at Order of Protection hearings
- Only organization that Partners with Law Enforcement, Courts & Criminal Justice systems in the St. Louis area to serve the unmet needs of battered women & their children
- 70 Volunteer Lawyers for LAAW
- Immediate Response – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – for battered women & their children referred by the police
…attorneys, staff and volunteers are specially trained in managing family violence crises on the crisis line, at the scene of a domestic dispute, and in the courtroom. They are experts in family violence law and put their expertise to work daily in finding dignified, safe and legal solutions for victims and their children.
LAAW’s Response to the Need
By the most conservative estimate, each year 1 million women suffer nonfatal violence by an intimate. (Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report: Violence Against Women: (NCJ-154348), August 1995,p. 3.) By other estimates, 4 million women experience a serious assault by an intimate partner during an average 12-month period. (American Psychological Association, Violence, and Family: Report of the American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family (1996), p.10.)
Domestic violence has immediate and long-term detrimental effects on children. Each year, an estimated 3.3 million children are exposed to violence by family members against their mothers or female caretakers. (American Psychological Association, Violence and the Family: Report of the American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family (1996), p.11.)
Women who are victims of domestic abuse often do not have strong support in the family and in the community. Often, victims are given misinformation or have been sent back to an abuser. Without proper information and training in family violence, many caring professionals and family members might further endanger, not help, the battered woman and her children. Legal Advocates for Abused Women (LAAW) offers specially trained staff & volunteers to address the needs of victims.
LAAW’s attorneys, staff and volunteers are specially trained in managing family violence crises on the crisis line, at the scene of a domestic dispute, and in the courtroom. They are experts in family violence law and put their expertise to work daily in finding dignified, safe, and legal solutions for victims and their children.
Programs
Crisis Support, Victim Intervention Project (VIP), Domestic Violence Intervention Partnership (DVIP), Legal Advocacy/Legal Representation, St. Louis City Order of Protection Assistance Project (COPA), EMS Training, Community Education, and LAAW Volunteers are the different programs that LAAW offers. For more information on these programs, please look at our programs page.