About Us
Our Mission
Victim Rights Law Center’s mission is to provide legal representation to survivors of rape and sexual assault to help rebuild their lives; and to promote a national movement committed to seeking justice for every rape and sexual assault survivor.
The Only Hope for Many Survivors
An act of sexual violence can devastate and often derail an individual’s life. The impact is long-lasting — months, years, even a lifetime. Imagine all the necessities of your life — housing; employment; education; privacy; safety; and, in some cases, citizenship — put in jeopardy because of sexual violence. While therapists, medical professionals, and the criminal justice system can provide invaluable support, they cannot restore some of life’s most immediate, basic needs. In response, VRLC was established in 2003 as the first nonprofit law center in the nation solely dedicated to serving the legal needs of rape and sexual assault survivors.
Our Services
Legal Services: VRLC provides free legal assistance for sexual assault survivors with legal needs related to the violence. Direct legal services are provided throughout Massachusetts and in Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington Counties, Oregon. VRLC’s legal practice areas are privacy, safety, immigration, housing, education (K-12 and campus), employment, financial stability, and criminal justice advocacy to help rebuild survivors’ lives following sexual violence. Through free legal services, our staff attorneys and volunteer attorneys help ensure that survivors may stay in school; protect their privileged and confidential mental health, medical, and education records; preserve their employment; maintain safe housing; secure their immigration status; and swiftly access survivor compensation and other benefits.
Pro Bono Programs: VRLC maintains vibrant pro bono programs in both Massachusetts and Oregon. VRLC staff attorneys recruit, train, and mentor volunteer attorneys to leverage local resources to help represent an ever-increasing number of sexual assault survivors. Private attorneys embrace the opportunity to use their expertise to volunteer in their community through an effective and efficient program through the representation of survivors, legal research, and amicus briefs.
Training: VRLC provides national training, consultation, and resources in critical arenas: survivor privacy, campus sexual assault, and civil legal services. Our trainings, resources, and consultations are informed by both our own work with survivors and the thousands of providers we support. What we learn from survivors we have used to train and mentor over 10,000 lawyers and advocates from every state and U.S. territory, continually improving access to justice for rape and sexual assault survivors. VRLC trains across states and tribes and hosts the nation’s only National Sexual Violence Law Conference. Lawyers, advocates, service members, and victim service providers around the world seek VRLC trainings and resources.
Our History
VRLC’s founder was answering calls on a rape crisis center hotline where she heard survivors identifying legal issues with their housing, education, employment, and immigration status. VRLC was founded in 2003 as the first nonprofit law center in the country solely dedicated to serving the critical legal needs of sexual assault survivors.
VRLC’s first office was located in downtown Boston. Our team started serving sexual assault survivors in the greater Boston area, and in 2018 expanded services statewide.
VRLC’s Portland, Oregon office opened in 2006, which allowed our national training and technical assistance program to have VRLC attorneys on both coasts. VRLC’s training team provides national and statewide trainings, mentoring, and consulting to lawyers and advocates; and creates resource tools, templates, and other products to help professionals better meet sexual assault survivors’ needs.
In 2013, VRLC’s Oregon office launched its direct services component, allowing VRLC to provide direct legal representation in Multnomah County. In 2014, VRLC expanded our legal representation to Washington County, and in 2016 to Clackamas County.
“My VRLC lawyer was the first person to say to me, ‘What happened to you was not your fault.’ And she repeated that every time she spoke to me, so I finally started to believe it. Victim Rights Law Center provided me with the confidence I needed to begin my healing process.”
– A VRLC client