The Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic
This summer I had the opportunity to work at The Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic as a Donner Fellow. The Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic was established in 1985 to commemorate the death of Barbra Teena Schlifer, a young lawyer who was murdered in Toronto on the day of her call to the Bar of Ontario on April 11, 1980.
Currently, the not-for-profit organization provides a broad range of programs and services to women who have experienced various forms of violence, including partner assault, sexual assault and childhood sexual abuse. This includes legal, educational, professional development, community development and systemic reform initiatives aimed at promoting women's autonomy and safety, increasing women's access to justice and community services, and ensuring better-coordinated and more effective service provision to women.
As a Donner Fellow, I worked in the Clinic's Legal Services department. This department offers direct client services in family, immigration and criminal law to women who have experienced violence. Working in immigration/refugee services, I spent my summer putting together a Gender-Based Migration Toolkit to be used by lawyers who represent female survivors of violence before the Immigration and Refugee Board and the Federal Court.
Immigration and refugee claims brought by female survivors of violence can be extremely complex and require an additional level of expertise that immigration and refugee practitioners may not have the time or resources to acquire. My project involved the creation of a one-stop database where immigration/refugee practitioners can access documents, expert contacts, country-conditions resources, statistics, relevant case law and important research and tips on how to most effectively advocate on behalf of clients who are survivors of violence.
Along with case law research, country conditions research and compiling articles that help form an understanding of the manifestations of trauma, I conducted interviews with the Clinic's counseling staff to create advocate support letter templates and tips on how to holistically advocate on behalf of a survivor of gender violence. I also created an online wiki website where the research is stored such that all Clinic staff and any interested legal practitioner can access the toolkit using passwords online.
The toolkit will be a tremendous resource for practitioners advocating on behalf of survivors of gender violence. The opportunity to work together with such an important and well-respected non-profit organization was invaluable. My summer as a Donner Fellow at The Barbra Schlifer Commemorative clinic has exposed me to the fascinating area of immigration and refugee law, introduced me to new ways a person practicing law can achieve social justice aims, and has endowed me with a better understanding of the multitudinous opportunities to promote positive change for female survivors of gender violence. I am grateful to the Clinic and to the Donner Fellowship for such a wonderful and rewarding experience.
