Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno will speak at Tulane University Law School on issues of domestic violence. Her address, “Ending Violence Against Women,” is sponsored by the Tulane Law School Domestic Violence Clinic, and will take place on Feb. 1 at noon in Room 110 of Weinmann Hall, 6329 Freret.
Reno has been instrumental in enacting programs under the Violence Against Women Act(“VAWA”), which passed in 1994 as the first comprehensive federal legislation to address violence against women. Its passage signified the federal government’s acknowledgment of the national harm caused by domestic and sexual violence. The law created federal domestic violence crimes and provided funds to train local police, including the New Orleans Police Department.
The Tulane Law School Domestic Violence Clinic, established in 2002, is a recipient of Violence Against Women Act funds and an example of the services VAWA has helped to provide to survivors of domestic violence. In the Clinic, law students represent domestic violence survivors seeking protective orders, divorces and custody. Tulane Social Work students help clients with emergency safety needs and housing. Tulane Public Health School students collect data on trends in domestic violence.
Professor Tania Tetlow, Director of the Tulane Law School Domestic Violence Clinic, states, “Janet Reno’s fight to end violence against women provides a model for our own community as we confront domestic violence after Katrina.”
This event is free and open to the public. For more information contact Melissa Flynn at 504-862-8817.