UPDATE | By Lisa Melton, Special Projects Manager, Texas Access to Justice Foundation
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pril is Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month and sexual assault advocates across Texas will be working to #TurnTexasTeal. Texas’ new statewide Legal Aid for Survivors of Sexual Assault (LASSA) Network will do their part to highlight new and vital civil legal services now available to victims of sexual assault who qualify for legal aid.
Survivors have a new statewide toll-free number [1-844-303-7233 (SAFE)] to call for representation and referral to nine legal aid organizations who are partnering with domestic violence and rape crisis centers across Texas for community outreach, education, and referrals. This is the first effort to insure critical civil legal services for survivors are available from anywhere in Texas.
Representation by legal aid programs, which have done an admirable job advocating for victims in the domestic violence arena, has not been widely available for Texas sexual assault victims. Federal restrictions prohibit legal aid programs from litigating most tort cases. While these same programs are allowed to represent sexual assault victims with respect to other civil legal remedies, only a handful of legal aid offices have had sufficient resources to screen or prioritize services to victims of non-intimate partner sexual assault, who comprise the majority of sexual assault victims. The recently upheld tax on sexually-oriented businesses has provided vital resources to the legal aid community so that these services can be undertaken on behalf of sexual assault survivors.
The LASSA Network intends to serve every Texas county providing survivors of sexual assault with a wide-range of free legal services from general advice to holistic, direct representation in civil legal matters stemming from the sexual assault. Survivors’ legal problems can include: privacy violations; physical safety threats; school accommodations; employment sanctions; financial problems; housing problems, and immigration consequences. Each organizational member of the network has identified a niche for services. Some will be focusing on Title IX outreach, education, referrals and representation and some will be tackling the immigration law consequences of survivors of human trafficking. Others will focus on basic needs like housing, employment, and education issues that arise from the aftermath of trauma.
Free and confidential legal advice can be obtained seven days a week at 1- 844-303-7233 (SAFE). Funding for the LASSA Network is administered by the Texas Access to Justice Foundation.
