Works cited throughout this website address the epidemic of violence against women and girls, the unique vulnerability of immigrant women and girls to violence, access to justice, forced marriage, and other issues related to our urgent mission. Full citations can be found below.

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS

• 1 in 3 women around the world will be raped, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime.¹
• Approximately 142 million girls throughout the world will be married before the age of 18 by 2020 if present trends continue.²
• Approximately 200 million women and girls alive today have been subjected to FGM/C.³
• Approximately 30 million girls under age 15 worldwide are still at risk for female genital mutilation.⁴
• Worldwide, an estimated 5,000 women and girls are murdered every year for a perceived dishonor to their families.⁵
• Every year, an estimated 14,500 to 17,500 individuals are trafficked into the United States.⁶
• Domestic violence — just one form of gender-based violence — is more costly than warfare, with a worldwide annual cost of $8 trillion.⁷
• Modern-day slavery disproportionately impacts women and girls. An estimated 80 percent of trafficking victims are female.⁸
• In United States alone, someone is raped every 6.2 minutes.⁹

UNIQUE VULNERABILITY OF IMMIGRANT WOMEN AND GIRLS

• Immigrant women and girls in the United States are up to 2x more likely to experience domestic violence than the general population.¹⁰
• 1 out of 5 battered immigrant women in the United States cite fear of immigration consequences as a reason for staying with an abuser.¹¹
• 72% of abusive partners fail to give their spouses legal immigration status in the United States as a tool of control.¹²
• There was a 140% increase in number of girls apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border from 2013 to 2014.¹³

ACCESS TO JUSTICE

• Nationally, there is only one public service attorney for every 10,000 people living in poverty.¹⁴
• Many immigrant women and girls will wait five years for a hearing in U.S. immigration court due to pervasive backlogs.¹⁵
• Nationwide, only 2% of immigrants facing removal in the U.S. are able to obtain pro bono legal representation.¹⁶
• Legal representation is the single most important factor affecting the outcome of an asylum case. Without representation, odds of winning hover at 16.3%; with representation, odds increase to 45.6%. With Tahirih representation, however, odds of wining skyrocket to 99%.¹⁷

FORCED MARRIAGE

• As many as 3,000 known or suspected cases of forced marriage were encountered in a two-year period all across the United States, according to a 2011 Tahirih survey of more than 500 social services professionals.¹⁸
• Forced marriage is an issue that can impact individuals of any gender, age, religion, or cultural background. Tahirih’s 2011 forced marriage survey found cases among families and communities from at least 56 different countries.¹⁹
• Only 16% of social services professionals feel equipped to help individuals facing a forced marriage, and too many victims are falling through the cracks.²⁰

OUR CLIENTS*

• Approximately 70% of our clients are fleeing violence that occurred in the United States.²¹
• Approximately 48% of our clients are victims of more than one type of crime.²²

Photos: On select pages of this website, we have featured portraits of Tahirih clients. Other images are purchased stock photos used to protect the safety of our clients. Client portraits on the Who We Serve page are courtesy of Steve Jeter and By Asa Photography. Our staff bio photos are courtesy of Michael Colella.

*Tahirih Impact Statistics: Additional Tahirih-specific service and impact statistics are tracked internally at Tahirih and published annually in impact reports and audited financial statements. To protect the women and girls we serve, we don’t release identifying information in reports or other formats without their written consent.



1. United Nations, “UNiTE to End Violence Against Women and Girls: The Secretary General’s Campaign Fact Sheet, last accessed July 1, 2015, http://www.un.org/en/women/endviolence/pdf/VAW.pdf.
2. United Nations Population Fund, “Marrying Too Young,” UNFPA Website, last accessed July 1, 2015 at http://www.unfpa.org/end-child-marriage.
3. UNICEF, “Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A Global Concern,” UNICEF Website, Feb 5, 2016, http://www.unicef.org/media/media_90033.html.
4. United Nations Population Fund, “Fewer Girls at Risk of Female Genital Mutilation, UNFPA Website, last modified Feb. 5, 2013, http://www.unfpa.org/news/fewer-girls-threatened-female-genital-mutilation.
5. United Nations Population Fund, “Lives Together, Worlds Apart: Men and Women in a Time of Change,” UNFPA Website, last accessed July 1, 2015, http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2000/english/ch03.html.
6. Clawson, Heather J., Dutch, Nicole, Goldblatt Grace, Lisa and Solomon, Amy, “Human Trafficking Into and Within the United States: A Review of the Literature,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services , U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Website, last modified August 2009, http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/07/humantrafficking/litrev/#How.
7. Hoefler, Anke and Fearon, James, “Conflict and Violence: An Assessment Paper,” Copenhagen Consensus Center, August 22, 2014, http://www.copenhagenconsensus.com/post-2015-consensus/conflictandviolence.
8. Clawson, Heather J., Dutch, Nicole, Goldblatt Grace, Lisa and Solomon, Amy, “Human Trafficking Into and Within the United States: A Review of the Literature,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services , U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Website, last modified August 2009, http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/07/humantrafficking/litrev/#How.
9. Federal Bureau of Investigation, “Crime in the United States: 2012,” FBI.gov, last accessed July 1, 2015, http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2012/crime-in-the-u.s.-2012/offenses-known-to-law-enforcement/national-data.
10. Aguilar Hass, Giselle; Ammar, Noel; and Orloff, Leslye, “Battered Immigrants and U.S. Citizen Spouses,” Legal Momentum, Academica.edu, last modified April 24, 2006, http://www.academia.edu/2236701/Battered_Immigrants_and_U.S._Citizen_Spouses.
11. Dutton, Mary Anne; Orloff, Leslye; Aguilar Hass, Giselle, “Characteristics of Help-Seeking Behaviors, Resources and Service Needs of Battered Immigrant Latinas: Legal and Policy Implications,” Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law & Policy, Volume VII, Number 2, Summer 2000, last accessed July 1, 2015, http://niwaplibrary.wcl.american.edu/cultural-competency/research-publications/CULTCOMP_Georgetown-Imm-Victim-Helpseeking2000.pdf.
12. Dutton, Mary Anne; Orloff, Leslye; Aguilar Hass, Giselle, “Characteristics of Help-Seeking Behaviors, Resources and Service Needs of Battered Immigrant Latinas: Legal and Policy Implications,” Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law & Policy, Volume VII, Number 2, Summer 2000, last accessed July 1, 2015, http://niwaplibrary.wcl.american.edu/cultural-competency/research-publications/CULTCOMP_Georgetown-Imm-Victim-Helpseeking2000.pdf.
13. Krogstad, Jens Manuel; Gonzalez-Barrera, Ana and Hugo Lopez , Mark, “At the border, a sharp rise in unaccompanied girls fleeing Honduras,” Pew Research Center, PewResearch.org, last modified July 25, 2014, http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/07/25/at-the-border-a-sharp-rise-in-unaccompanied-girls-fleeing-honduras/.
14. National Center for Access to Justice, “The Justice Index: Access to Justice: Numbers of Attorneys per People in Poverty,” last accessed July 1, 2015, http://www.justiceindex.org/findings/attorney-access/.
15. Barret, Devlin. “U.S. Delays Thousands of Immigration Hearings by Nearly 5 Years,” The Wall Street Journal, WSJ.com, last modified Jan. 28, 2015, http://www.wsj.com/articles/justice-department-delays-some-immigration-hearings-by-5-years-1422461407.
16. Eagly, Ingrid and Shafer, Steven. “A National Study of Access to Counsel in Immigration Court,” University of Pennsylvania Law Review, papers.ssrn.com, last modified March 21, 2015, http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2581161.
17. Ramji-Nogale, Jaya, Schoenholtz, Andrew I., and Schrag, Phillip G. “Refugee Roulette: Disparities in Asylum Adjudication, Stanford Law Review, papers.ssrn.com, last accessed Aug. 21, 2015, http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=983946.
18. Tahirih Justice Center, “Forced Marriage in Immigrant Communities in the United States: 2011 National Survey Results,” Tahirih.org, last modified June 30, 2015, http://preventforcedmarriage.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/REPORT-Tahirih-Survey-on-Forced-Marriage-in-Immigrant-Communities-in-the-United-States-September-201151.pdf.
19. Tahirih Justice Center, “Forced Marriage in Immigrant Communities in the United States: 2011 National Survey Results,” Tahirih.org, last modified June 30, 2015, http://preventforcedmarriage.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/REPORT-Tahirih-Survey-on-Forced-Marriage-in-Immigrant-Communities-in-the-United-States-September-201151.pdf.
20. Tahirih Justice Center, “Forced Marriage in Immigrant Communities in the United States: 2011 National Survey Results,” Tahirih.org, last modified June 30, 2015, http://preventforcedmarriage.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/REPORT-Tahirih-Survey-on-Forced-Marriage-in-Immigrant-Communities-in-the-United-States-September-201151.pdf.
21. This figure represents the percentage of Tahirih Justice Center clients from 2012-2015 who sought immigration relief after a crime via the Violence Against Women Act self-petition, a U visa, or a T visa.
22. This figure represents the percentage of Tahirih Justice Center clients from 2012-2014 who self-reported experiencing more than one form of violence.

Last updated 2/24/2016