The Women's Justice Center of the Pace University School of Law is dedicated to eradicating domestic violence and furthering the legal rights of women, children and the elderly through the skillful and innovative use of the law. The Center's goal is to give those who support battered women, the elderly, women with low income, victims of sexual assault and children the education and legal tools they need to stop violence against women, seek economic justice, empower the underrepresented and save lives.

The Pace Women's Justice Center is  a training, resource and direct legal services center. It creates and disseminates new techniques for legal intervention. Each year, we provide representation to hundreds of clients.  Each year, we train dozens of law students and thousands of judges, attorneys, and others who work to eradicate injustice to women.

The Westchester Division

Project D.E.T.E.R. and Project A.S.S.I.S.T.

Too often, battered women fear facing batterers unrepresented in court and do not follow through to obtain orders of protection. To overcome the dread of doing it alone, victims have an attorney by their side every step of the way under Department of Justice funded programs named Project D.E.T.E.R. and Project A.S.S.I.S.T. In cooperation with partnering police departments and medical care facilities, the Center provides immediate legal representation to victims of domestic violence as soon as police respond to a 911 call or a referral is made by a healthcare professional. Project A.S.S.I.S.T. provides extra support to Spanish-speaking clients and has a Spanish-speaking advocate who provides 24/7 advocate services to clients.

Under both projects, police officers and healthcare professionals also participate in education programs that include training in such domestic violence intervention techniques as full faith and credit, risk indices, and primary aggressor theory. The results thus far have shown the effectiveness of early and ongoing support for battered women. Before the project began, 25 percent of victims followed through to obtain a permanent order of protection. Now 90 to 100 percent of victims represented by the program obtain permanent orders of protection.

Teen Dating Violence Institute

Teen dating violence is an epidemic. Studies have shown that one in three teenage girls will experience some sort of physical or verbal abuse while in a dating relationship. The Teen Dating Violence Institute, held every summer, educates student leaders about dating violence, domestic abuse and other dangerous behavior in the hopes of reducing its occurrence. Specifically it points out the dangers of rape, stalking and emotional, psychological and physical abuse.

After the training sessions, the student leaders go back to their schools to help their peers understand what is and what is not healthy behavior. The Pace Women’s Justice Center’s Teen Dating Violence Program session includes presentations, videos, and discussions of myths and realities. The program is financially supported by EILEEN FISHER, the Junior League of Westchester on the Sound, the Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation and the Women’s Research and Education Fund.

Sexual Assault Training Program

This program develops curricula to train prosecutors, law enforcement officers, health care professionals, and advocates on a variety of topics concerning sexual assault.  Funded through the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, the Program seeks to improve the criminal justice system’s response to sexual assualt in rural areas of the State and to design and deliver trainings to enhance trial advocacy skills and improve techniques for interviewing sexual assault victims.

Elder Institute

The Elder Institute at the Pace Women’s Justice Center encompasses a number of outreach and educational opportunities for seniors and those who care for them in the community. Elder Law Seminars conducted by a Center attorney along with an attorney who specializes in elder issues seek to educate seniors with estate, financial, and health care planning.

In addition, Elder Abuse seminars are held for prosecutors, law enforcement officers, health care professionals, and advocates to inform them how they can assist seniors in need of help.

The Center is partnering with the Hebrew Home for the Aged at Riverdale to establish the nation’s first long-term care based elder abuse prevention and intervention program for elderly living in the community. The Pace Women’s Justice Center will act as the civil legal support system. A Center attorney will provide legal assistance for victims referred by the Weinberg Center including obtaining orders of protection, securing temporary financial maintenance, and seeking other necessary legal remedies.