Domestic Violence Clinic

The Domestic Violence Clinic has been helping victims of sexual and domestic abuse in Lane County, Oregon for almost twenty years. The goal of the Clinic is to provide free legal services to low-income community survivors of sexual assault, stalking and domestic violence, as well as train current law students to be effective advocates for survivors. 

Nearly one million Oregon women have experienced sexual or domestic violence; one of the highest rates in the country. In Lane County alone, over 14,000 calls for help were made to domestic and sexual violence programs in 2015. Our Clinic was able to serve 275 survivors last year.

The Domestic Violence Clinic at the University of Oregon is raising funds to expand the scope of the crucial services they provide to the community. Among other things, this campaign will allow us to offer legal services to survivors on six campuses of higher education in Lane County and reach more community survivors.

​

The clinic addresses community needs by focusing on these important areas:

• Offering comprehensive legal services for matters related to family, housing, benefits, and employment. Such services are essential for victims' safety and well being.  
• Partnering with other local organizations like Womenspace and Sexual Assault Support Services (SASS) to provide holistic care to victims in need.
• Running the Student Survivor Legal Services (SSLS) program. SSLS is the first on-campus legal office devoted entirely to serving campus survivors in civil, criminal and campus disciplinary matters. The program has served the 24,000 students at the University of Oregon for the last three years. It is now expanding to six other institutions of higher education in Lane County: New Hope Christian University, Northwest Christian University, Guttenberg College, Lane Community College, Pioneer Pacific College, and Pacific University.
• Teaching law students how to work with survivors of domestic and sexual violence by giving them the skills required for compassionate and competent client representation in a litigation-based practice.  

​

Testimonials

"I learned more about being a lawyer in that one clinic than I did in the other three years of law school combined."  Former Student in the Clinic.

"If it was not for my attorney at the SSLS clinic, I would not have been able to graduate." Student Survivor

For more detailed information on the Domestic Violence Clinic, visit

https://law.uoregon.edu/explore/community-legal-services-for-survivors