UNESCO Chair for Human Rights, Peace and Democracy
Legal Clinic of Women and Children
Introduction
The legal clinic of women and children at Shahid Beheshti University was established to provide the needy and afflicted women and children with legal services in 1385. This clinic was inaugurated by the help of UNESCO Chair for Human Rights, Peace and Democracy at Shahid Beheshti University, with the support of UNDP to reach justice and promotion of human rights and with the cooperation of family research center in the specialized clinic of family and child at SBU. The administrators work chorally. This center, presenting legal counseling both in the forms of telephonic and personal along with preparing petition and bill, has mainly concentrated on family and the relevant issues. However, it has recently focused on providing legal services to women in other areas.
The chief and preliminary aims of the clinic are as follows:
1. Providing committed and compassionate services especially for those in need of free legal services
2. Creating opportunities for the graduates of Law to get skills and awareness
3. Familiarization with the real legal troubles and experiences under supervision of professors
4. Making latent grounds for the modification of rules
5. Establishing the atmosphere of free legal services for all [with a focus on the target group (women, children) and the subject of activity (family-oriented)]
6. Creating a systematic relation among universities, society and people
7. Developing a system for the active participation of students and educating lawyers able of proving effective legal services as well as promoting work ethics and professional responsibility
Undoubtedly, the development of these clinics, regarding the target group, subject of activity and education of graduates for providing effective legal services, not only provides the public benefits but also it, via needs analysis of future developments and funding for legal promotion, paves the way for graduates’ job opportunities near their hometown.
Another point worth mentioning is the means of interactional with clients. The issues relevant to families are of diverse range in which their solutions require specific skills and awareness. Besides, the significant root of family issues originate from individuals’ unawareness in different areas both in the initial days of marriage and even after that.
Experiences have shown that the majority of women who telephonically or personally referred to the clinic are emotionally exposed to severe pressure, causing to briefly and concisely elaborate the main issue.
It mostly seems that they more need ears for hearing their problems and almost always do not state the determinant parts of their cases in the legal counseling sessions. As a result, with respect to the priority of protection and the preservation of family through solving the problems, the counselor is required to be experienced, patient and knowledgeable in other fields to help the client, if required, by non-legal strategies. Often, they solve their problems by consultation with psychologists. This does not mean that the counselor must be quite expert in different fields besides legal field, but it must be kept in mind that the issues related to family legal counseling services without an appropriate analysis of the trouble cannot well provide the protection and preservation of family.
At present, due to the lack of enough facilities, the clinic cannot provide any client services. It is hoped that in the near future services such as telephone and personal services, fax and the internet be added soon.
Eventually, the clinic firmly believes in the adherence to the individuals’ secrets and respect to moral rights of clients.
The legal clinic of women and children at Shahid Beheshti University was established to provide the needy and afflicted women and children with legal services in 1385. This clinic was inaugurated by the help of UNESCO Chair for Human Rights, Peace and Democracy at Shahid Beheshti University, with the support of UNDP to reach justice and promotion of human rights and with the cooperation of family research center in the specialized clinic of family and child at SBU.
The collective plan of “the promotion of human rights and access to justice” is one the main three groups that was designed within the framework of approved program of good governance and under support and a five-year period (from 2005 to 2009) in IRI. This plan is being done with the cooperation of UNDP and eight human rights institutions in the Faculty of Law and Political sciences in the University of Tehran.
The managerial group consists of:
The studies center for Human Rights at Tehran university; the Chair for Human Rights , Peace and Democracy at SBU; the studies center for Human Rights at Mofid university; Deputy Education of Judiciary; Commission of Islamic Human Rights; Lawyers Association; the Association of Iranian Journalists and the Organization for Defending Victims of Violence
The legal clinic of women and children at Shahid Beheshti University was established to provide the needy and afflicted women and children with legal services in 1385. This clinic was inaugurated by the help of UNESCO Chair for Human Rights, Peace and Democracy at Shahid Beheshti University, with the support of UNDP to reach justice and promotion of human rights and with the cooperation of family research center in the specialized clinic of family and child at SBU. The administrators work chorally. This center, presenting legal counseling both in the forms of telephonic and personal along with preparing petition and bill, has mainly concentrated on family and the relevant issues. However, it has recently focused on providing legal services to women in other areas.
The chief and preliminary aims of the clinic are as follows:
1. Providing committed and compassionate services especially for those in need of free legal services
2. Creating opportunities for the graduates of Law to get skills and awareness
3. Familiarization with the real legal troubles and experiences under supervision of professors
4. Making latent grounds for the modification of rules
5. Establishing the atmosphere of free legal services for all [with a focus on the target group (women, children) and the subject of activity (family-oriented)]
6. Creating a systematic relation among universities, society and people
7. Developing a system for the active participation of students and educating lawyers able of proving effective legal services as well as promoting work ethics and professional responsibility
Undoubtedly, the development of these clinics, regarding the target group, subject of activity and education of graduates for providing effective legal services, not only provides the public benefits but also it, via needs analysis of future developments and funding for legal promotion, paves the way for graduates’ job opportunities near their hometown.
Another point worth mentioning is the means of interactional with clients. The issues relevant to families are of diverse range in which their solutions require specific skills and awareness. Besides, the significant root of family issues originate from individuals’ unawareness in different areas both in the initial days of marriage and even after that.
Experiences have shown that the majority of women who telephonically or personally referred to the clinic are emotionally exposed to severe pressure, causing to briefly and concisely elaborate the main issue.
It mostly seems that they more need ears for hearing their problems and almost always do not state the determinant parts of their cases in the legal counseling sessions. As a result, with respect to the priority of protection and the preservation of family through solving the problems, the counselor is required to be experienced, patient and knowledgeable in other fields to help the client, if required, by non-legal strategies. Often, they solve their problems by consultation with psychologists. This does not mean that the counselor must be quite expert in different fields besides legal field, but it must be kept in mind that the issues related to family legal counseling services without an appropriate analysis of the trouble cannot well provide the protection and preservation of family.
At present, due to the lack of enough facilities, the clinic cannot provide any client services. It is hoped that in the near future services such as telephone and personal services, fax and the internet be added soon.
Eventually, the clinic firmly believes in the adherence to the individuals’ secrets and respect to moral rights of clients.
The legal clinic of women and children at Shahid Beheshti University was established to provide the needy and afflicted women and children with legal services in 1385. This clinic was inaugurated by the help of UNESCO Chair for Human Rights, Peace and Democracy at Shahid Beheshti University, with the support of UNDP to reach justice and promotion of human rights and with the cooperation of family research center in the specialized clinic of family and child at SBU.
The collective plan of “the promotion of human rights and access to justice” is one the main three groups that was designed within the framework of approved program of good governance and under support and a five-year period (from 2005 to 2009) in IRI. This plan is being done with the cooperation of UNDP and eight human rights institutions in the Faculty of Law and Political sciences in the University of Tehran.
The managerial group consists of:
The studies center for Human Rights at Tehran university; the Chair for Human Rights , Peace and Democracy at SBU; the studies center for Human Rights at Mofid university; Deputy Education of Judiciary; Commission of Islamic Human Rights; Lawyers Association; the Association of Iranian Journalists and the Organization for Defending Victims of Violence