16635: Miami-Herald-Legal group to offer help to abused Haitian women (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Thu, Sep. 04, 2003

Legal group to offer help to abused Haitian women
BY JACQUELINE CHARLES
jcharles@herald.com

The first time Haitian-American activist Marleine Bastien spoke publicly on
Creole-language radio against domestic violence, she was greeted with death
threats and disparaging remarks from callers accusing her of trying to break
up the Haitian family.

Fast forward 10 years. While the reactions to spousal abuse have tempered
somewhat, she says the problem remains in South Florida's Haitian community
despite some signs of progress: Last year, Bastien's group, Haitian Women of
Miami, counseled 50 Haitian women claiming to be victims of domestic
violence.

''The current situation now is horrible,'' said Bastien, who believes last
year's numbers don't even begin to describe the extent of the problem.
``Most of the women and men are not working, and the level of frustration is
sky-high . . . The economic situation is dire now, and the likelihood of
abuse increases.''

Now, a group of attorneys has devised a plan to try to provide low-income
Haitian women with help.

Founded by Legal Services of Greater Miami, the Haitian Women's Legal
Project will provide a Creole-speaking staff attorney and focus exclusively
on domestic violence within the Haitian community to help women overcome the
cultural, financial and legal barriers that can prevent them from breaking
the cycle of abuse.

'The whole idea behind our project is there has to be a really big outreach
component to let them know, `This is what your legal rights are and you have
a right to be safe,' '' said Margaret Zehren, director of training and
professional development with Legal Services.

Zehren said that in addition to providing the women with legal assistance,
the project also wants to reach out to organizations like Haitian Women of
Miami that women already trust and that has a track record in trying to get
women to understand that they should step forward despite fears about
immigration status or distrust of police and shelters.

The difference between the Haitian Women's Legal Project and groups like
Bastien's, Zehren said, is that ``we are lawyers. We can go to court.''

Bastien welcomes the initiative.

''Whatever resources exist in the community is helpful,'' she said. ``But we
can only go so far if we are unable to really empower the women and if we
are unable to make an impact in their lives. . .''

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