Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Violence against women and girls is a human rights issue around the world. Due to pervasive inequality, millions of women and girls experience violence simply because they were born female. Around the world, 1 in 3 women will be raped, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime. Gender-based violence can have a crippling effect on a woman’s or girl’s life, inflicting short- and long-term physical and mental harm. We walk with and serve those who are among the most marginalized survivors of gender-based violence – immigrant women and girls seeking freedom from violence. Women and girls are among the most vulnerable of the marginalized survivors; and immigrants are among those who face the highest barriers but are the least protected, lacking access to assistance that is available to other survivors.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Direct Holistic Legal and Social Services
Tahirih provides a range of free immigration, family, and civil legal services, as well as holistic case management services to ensure that immigrant survivors can truly access justice and become self-sufficient. Our expert attorneys, social workers, other staff and volunteers assist 1,500+ immigrant survivors across the country annually through:
• Immigration Law Services: including gender-based asylum, protection for survivors of domestic violence, protection for victims of trafficking and other violent crimes, and protection for girls who have been abused, abandoned, or neglected;
• Family Law Services: including temporary and permanent orders of protection, divorce, custody, and visitation (both through in-house family law assistance and referral relationships); and
• Case Management Services: including safety planning, goal setting, and referrals to shelter, counseling, food, clothing, urgent medical care, and other resources to help women and girls rebuild their lives.
Community and Professional Education and Outreach
Tahirih engages in outreach activities to ensure that the public and professionals violence are aware of the unique challenges and obstacles faced by immigrant women and children seeking freedom from violence. Tahirih trains attorneys, police officers, judges, prosecutors, legislators, social and medical service providers with information, strategies, and tools to support immigrant women and girls fleeing violence, and to help them access the legal remedies available to them. We also work closely with the media, speak at universities and law schools around the region, and raise awareness at community religious institutions such as mosques, churches, and temples. Through training and outreach, we educate thousands of frontline professionals and members of the public each year —including attorneys, judges, police officers, healthcare staff, and social service providers— in order to create communities better able to respond to the special needs of immigrant survivors.
Bridge-Building Public Policy Advocacy
Through an approach to advocacy that is rooted in our direct services experience, Tahirih analyzes trends and amplifies the voices of the women and girls we serve in critical public policy debates. Tahirih’s intimate understanding of the abuse suffered by our clients provides unique insights that enable us to design and execute effective campaigns for systemic, lasting change. We recognize that most organizations focus on either direct services or public policy advocacy; Tahirih is unusual in our commitment to engage in both and act as a critical bridge between local direct services agencies and national advocacy organizations. Further, as a result of our collaborative, bi-partisan approach, Tahirih is a leader on issues of gender-based asylum and forced marriage.
Where we work
Awards
Hugh A. Johnson Jr. Memorial Award 2016
Hispanic Bar Association of DC
Finalist 2014
Social Impact Business Plan Exchange
Best Local Charities Award 2008
The Washingtonian
Award for Excellence in Non-Profit Management 2007
The Washington Post
Leadership Award 2002
The Washington Area Women's Foundation
Agent of Change Award 2008
Virginia Domestic and Sexual Violence Action Alliance
Affiliations & memberships
Combined Federal Campaign 2014
External reviews

Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of clients served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls, Immigrants and migrants
Related Program
Direct Holistic Legal and Social Services
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Individuals protected through free legal and social services
Number of community events or trainings held and attendance
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Emergency responders
Related Program
Community and Professional Education and Outreach
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Professionals and community members - including attorneys, judges, police officers, healthcare staff, and social service providers - trained and educated.
Number of articles, radio and television spots published in prominent media
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls, Immigrants and migrants
Related Program
Community and Professional Education and Outreach
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Number of articles, radio and television spots in prominent media that educated the public about the impact of federal and local policies on immigrant women and girls fleeing violence.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
At the Tahirih Justice Center, we envision a world where justice is accessible to all, irrespective of borders, gender, race, or wealth. Equitable justice will enable humanity to recognize its inherent oneness, realize gender equality, and achieve the unity.
We are a national, non-profit organization with a mission to support immigrant survivors of gender-based violence seeking safety and justice. Our interdisciplinary model of service combines free legal services, social services case management, with bridge-building policy advocacy, and training and education. We amplify the voices of survivors in communities, courts, and Congress to create a world where everyone can live in safety and with dignity.
With our vision and mission in mind, our 2021 goals are to:
-Provide trauma-informed, survivor-centered immigration legal and social services case management to 1,800 individuals
-Contribute to systems and institutional advocacy efforts at the local, state and/or federal level that centers impacted communities and advances justice for immigrant survivors
-Develop and present high quality, relevant substantive and skill-based training and community outreach materials that employ adult learning style principles and an anti-racist lens to 5,000 colleagues, pro-bono partners, allied professionals, volunteers, and community members
-Through policy advocacy, work to improve access to asylum for immigrant survivors
-Educate service providers about the issue of forced marriage and best practices for supporting survivors
-Continue to raise awareness about FMI's national Technical Assistance capacity and expertise and promptly respond to requests from across the U.S. and internationally via email and phone
-Serve U.S. survivors and individuals at risk of forced marriage with holistic, trauma-informed support and expert case management
-Lead or support state-based efforts to end or limit child marriage in 10 states and lead efforts to introduce and pass legislation on the Federal level
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Tahirih Justice Center stands alone as the only national, multi-city organization providing a broad range of direct legal services, policy advocacy, and training and education to protect immigrant women and girls fleeing gender-based violence. Our interdisciplinary, trauma-informed model combines free legal services and social services case management with bridge-building policy advocacy and research-based training and education. Our programs efficiently and effectively leverage donated professional services from a vast network of attorneys, medical professionals, and other experts to serve as many immigrant survivors as possible.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The Tahirih Justice Center is an award-winning, effective, and efficient national organization that has assisted more than 31,000 calls for help from immigrant survivors fleeing gender-based violence since 1997.
With a staff of more than 90 and more than 2,800 Pro Bono Attorney Network members, our tested, externally-evaluated model of service depends on a number of core capabilities – such as specialized expertise in immigration law for survivors of gender-based violence; trauma-informed direct services; and excellence in nonprofit management – and has been successfully replicated in five locations: Atlanta, Baltimore, Greater Washington, DC, Houston, and the San Francisco Bay Area. And every year since opening our first field office in 2009, we have continued to experience tremendous growth and success. From 2011 to 2013, we grew 51%, hiring attorneys and other critical staff; in 2014 alone, we grew another 27%. We now respond to more than 3,000 calls for help each year from women and children fleeing violence.
Our success to date demonstrates the importance of building local sources of support, including pro bono resources and city-specific individual, corporate, government, and foundation donors. Nationwide, we are effective: we maintain a 96% litigation success rate despite the complex nature of the cases we accept. Tahirih accepts cases that others have deemed “unwinnable” and pioneers in uncharted areas of the law. Further, we are efficient: we leverage the donated services of a nationwide network of pro bono professionals, which includes more than 2,800 attorneys at 484 top law firms and corporations.
In recognition of these results, Tahirih has been honored by a number of awards and recognition, such as: Catalogue for Philanthropy ~ One of the Best; Charity Navigator ~ Four-Star Charity; Washington Post ~ Award for Excellence in Non-Profit Management; Newsweek Magazine ~ 150 Fearless Women Award ~ Tahirih Director Layli Miller-Muro; and Meyer Foundation ~ Exponent Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Leadership ~ Tahirih Director Layli Miller-Muro, among others.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
As the Tahirih Justice Center has matured as an organization and expanded nationwide, we have regularly witnessed record-breaking year-over-year results. In particular, in 2020, the Tahirih Justice Center achieved significant results:
-Provided free legal services to 1,796 immigrant women and children and 1,452 of their family members
-Connected 504 clients and their family members with vital social services including emergency shelter, food and clothing, and healthcare
-Mobilized 2,804 attorneys from 484 top law firms in our Pro Bono Network to leverage donated resources and maximize our capacity
-Trained and educated 13,934 frontline professionals and community members, including attorneys, judges, police officers, healthcare staff, and social service providers
-Responded to calls from 346 lawyers and service providers from 22 countries and 18 states who needed expert advice
-Educated the public and framed the national dialogue about the impact of federal and local policies on immigrant women and children fleeing violence through 417 articles in prominent media outlets including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, AP News, The Washington Post, Univision, and NPR
-Garnered 3 million views on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube, sparking vital conversations about issues that impact the safety and dignity of survivors
-Advised the transition team for the incoming administration on ways to improve the immigration system and best practices to ensure safety for immigrant survivors
-Successfully sued to challenge the use of Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents to conduct credible fear interviews. The court held that the agents had not been properly trained as asylum officers, in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act
-Filed 17 amicus briefs, 5 new lawsuits, and 13 sets of regulatory comments opposing a broad range of administration policies, from increases on application fees to efforts to functionally end asylum
-Fought for the rights of immigrant survivors in 11 active high-impact federal court cases, as counsel or plaintiff, and weighed in on 17 other legal cases by filing arguments supporting the interests of immigrant survivors of violence
-Launched the Stand with Survivors campaign in response to proposed regulations to devastate U.S. asylum law. Across the country, advocates came together and filed nearly 90,000 comments in response to the proposed regulations
-Triaged 222 emergency requests for assistance – from 25 states and nearly every region of the globe
-Equipped 1,915 frontline professionals with critical tools to identify forced marriage and protect victims
-Worked closely with survivor-advocates and pro bono partners to achieve or inspire new laws against child marriage in 5 states: Idaho, Indiana, Maine, Minnesota, Pennsylvania; as well as the
U.S. Virgin Islands
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Tahirih Justice Center
Board of directorsas of 09/23/2022
Mr. Douglas Henck
Maria A Cestone
Cestone & Thompson P.C.
Shira Saperstein
Conway Strategic
David Shin
Houston Vein Specialists
Rafa Abdalla
The World Bank
Aicha Abdoulaye
Former Tahirih Client
Katherine Ashley
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Brigida Benitez
Steptoe & Johnson LLP
Rwanda Campbell
Arnold & porter LLP
Tara Hogan Charles
Proctor & Gamble
Yabo Lin
Sidley Austin LLP
Douglas Henck
Board Chair
Layli Maparyan
Wellesley Centers for Women
Shabnam Mogharabi
SoulPancake
Rosita Najmi
PayPal
Jennifer Okwudili
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Paul Salvaty
Hogan Lovells
Olga Sanchez
Plastic Surgery Institute of Washington
Mehrnaz Vahid
Citi Private Bank
Rishi Varma
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Enoch Varner
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 09/22/2022GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.