Protect 250 Immigrant Women Fleeing Violence

Dear Friends,

This holiday season, I hope you have a moment to meet a real-life hero, Gloria.* Born out of wedlock and orphaned by her mother in Mexico City, Gloria grew up without knowing what it felt like to be loved. At age 14, Gloria was homeless and was forced to drop out of school to support herself.

In her early 20s, she met a man who showed her affection for the first time in her life. He asked her to prove her love for him by getting his initials tattooed on her shoulder, and she did. Gloria couldn’t have known the meaning of the tattoo; his initials branded her as property of one of the most violent gangs in the world, Los Zetas. Soon after, her boyfriend took her to a party, where he sold her to Los Zetas as a sex slave.

During her six months in captivity, Gloria was raped, drugged, burned with cigarettes, cut with broken bottles, and tortured so often that she lost count. She was kept in a room with 20 other women and girls. All had similar tattoos on their shoulders.

One night, Gloria was put alone in a room after being raped. Frustrated, she punched a rusted air conditioner mounted in the window, and it budged. This was her chance.

She punched the air conditioner until it fell to the ground. Gloria climbed through into the night, and she ran for days.

Apprehended at the border, she was immediately placed in a detention center in Texas and sought protection through Tahirih. We helped Gloria win asylum and connected her with vital social services.

Today, Gloria is slowly rebuilding her life and healing from her trauma. She recently found a job and dreams of one day becoming a dentist. For the first time in her life, she feels like she has the tools she needs to build a home.

Unfortunately, Gloria’s story is not unique. At Tahirih Justice Center, we hear stories like Gloria’s many times a day, every single day. Her story is an urgent reminder of the work that remains in the fight to create a world where women and girls enjoy equality and live in safety and with dignity.

Since 1997, Tahirih has responded to pleas for help from nearly 17,000 women and children from every corner of the globe. We protect courageous immigrant women and girls, like Gloria, who refuse to be victims of extreme gender-based violence, a worldwide epidemic that impacts everyone. But none of our lifesaving work would be possible without your help.

Thanks to supporters like you, in 2014, we:

• Responded to more than 2,000 pleas for help from individuals fleeing violence;
• Maintained a 99% litigation success rate despite the complex and often uncharted nature of the cases we accept;
• Grew 12% nationally by hiring critical staff members to support more women and girls entitled to protection under existing U.S. law;
• Turned every $1 donated into $5 of impact thanks to nearly $13 million in donated services from our Pro Bono Network of more than 1,500 attorneys and professional volunteers;
• Served at the forefront of the movement to protect the rights of immigrant women and girls who fled gender-based and now are caught in the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border;
• Launched a six-city,18-event, national tour to end forced marriage in the U.S.
• Led a coalition of women’s rights groups at the White House to advocate for stronger protections for women and girls.

Despite these challenging times, this holiday season, we have so much to celebrate. We are immensely grateful to our dedicated staff and our robust and compassionate Pro Bono Network. We are also incredibly thankful for you. Your continued support has saved lives, and it has given many of our clients a sense of safety and dignity for their first time in their lives.

As we approach 2015, Tahirih Justice Center will continue to seek efficient, effective, and innovative ways to protect women like Gloria and all of our brave clients. But we cannot do this without your generosity. We simply do not have the resources necessary to meet the needs of the courageous women and girls who reach out to us for help; with every client we serve, we still have to turn two others away. This Thanksgiving, please give what you can and know that the lives that your gift touches will be forever transformed.

With your continued support, we will increase the number of women and girls we serve through public policy advocacy and direct lifesaving legal services. Together, we will achieve a world free from gender-based violence. Please make a donation at whatever level you can, and transform a life like Gloria’s this holiday season. Remember, every $1 you donate will be turned into $5 of impact.

With warmest regards,

Layli Miller-Muro

Executive Director

Tahirih Justice Center

*Please note that our client's name and photo has been changed to protect her privacy.