Removing the Language Barrier II
Ms. V's story.

One of our API staff attorneys assisted Ms. V who had been abused throughout her marriage by her husband. Ms. V only spoke an API language and did not know how to seek help. One day, she could not take the abuse any longer and called the police. When the police came, she was not able to communicate with them because she did not speak any English. But the police saw her bruises and took the husband away. He was put in jail for a short while but soon returned home.

Due to a language barrier, Ms. V did not know that her husband had been convicted of domestic violence and that there was a protective order for him to stay away from her for three years. She had no idea what her rights were. All she knew was that calling the police did not work because her husband came right back home. After several more years of abuse, the client finally left home with her two children and entered a shelter.

When Ms. V came to our office, one of our API language-speaking law clerks explained to her that her husband was not supposed to have come home and that she could have been living free from violence for the past two and _ years. If legal authorities had been able to explain her rights to her in Vietnamese, she and her children would have been spared from additional violence. Our API staff attorney represented her in court, helping her obtain a restraining order since her criminal protective order was about to expire. Currently, we are assisting this client in obtaining a divorce.

Back