Browse our publications to learn more about how we support immigrant survivors of gender-based violence through service in communities, courts, and Congress.
Archi Pyati: “Anyone, of any political ideology, should embrace these principles and work to achieve a truly just, equitable, and safe world”
Falls Church – Tahirih Justice Center is a leading advocate for immigrant survivors of gender-based violence, as well as survivors of forced and child marriage. Inspired by the principles of the Baha’i Faith, Tahirih is a secular organization and entirely nonpartisan. We care deeply about the commitments U.S. policymakers make toward ending gender-based violence and — most importantly — the results. During an election year, the most controversial issues always take center stage. But establishing a humane, trauma-informed immigration system should not be a matter of controversy.
“Everyone has the right to live with dignity and safety in thriving communities, with the ability to move on from the most challenging moments of their lives and embrace their full potential as members of the human family,“ said Archi Pyati, Chief Executive Officer of the Tahirih Justice Center. “At the Tahirih Justice Center, we have a clear vision for the world we want to live in — one that we believe any policymaker in the United States, at any level of government, should share. We are working to co-create a U.S. legal system that supports women, girls, and all survivors of gender-based violence. The changes we seek at Tahirih transcend partisan politics; we truly believe that anyone, of any political ideology, should embrace these principles and work to achieve a truly just, equitable, and safe world.”
Access Tahirih’s Pathways to Progress: Five Principles for a Trauma-Informed and Survivor-Centered Immigration Framework here. In summary, Tahirih seeks policy proposals that:
“These five principles are the lenses through which we view any and all immigration or related policies that impact the communities we are working to protect and empower,” added Pyati. “From ending child and forced marriage to ensuring survivors of gender-based violence can actually access immigration legal protections, including asylum and the protections enshrined in the Violence Against Women Act, Tahirih is working to build a world where all survivors — regardless of immigration status — can attain safety and justice. To achieve this goal, we believe these values must be reflected in all our systems, including housing, healthcare, and criminal justice — as well as immigration.”
To learn more about Tahirih’s interdisciplinary approach to securing dignity, justice, and transformation for survivors, visit our website: www.tahirih.org.
Making Progress, But Still Falling Short outlines what more needs to be done to end child marriage in America both at the state and federal level. It contains the latest analysis (updated September 1, 2024) on all 35 states that have recently enacted laws to end or limit child marriage, calling out features that make them strong or weak.
For a high-level summary of the nature of all the marriage-age reforms enacted by states since 2016, please click here.
For a map of all the reforms made since 2016, please click here.
For analysis of the impact of reforms that limited, but did not end, child marriage, click here.
Read our 2023 audited financial statements.
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The Steering Committee of the National Task Force to End Sexual & Domestic Violence sent a letter to President Biden expressing their deep concern about proposed permanent changes to the U.S. immigration system that would drastically limit eligibility for asylum seekers and have a disproportionate impact on immigrant survivors of gender-based violence.
Download the full letter below.
The Tahirih Justice Center is dismayed by the recent Texas legislation that targets immigrants, people seeking asylum, and Texans of color for arrest, deportation, and further criminalization. These new laws – SB4 from the 3rd Special Session adding a penalty enhancement for smuggling, and SB3 and SB4 from the 4th Special Session, on appropriations and unlawful entry, perpetuate racist and xenophobic narratives about immigrants. These laws will also have a devasting and disproportionate impact on immigrant survivors of gender-based violence by cutting off access to the U.S. asylum system, enabling law enforcement officers to deport survivors of crime rather than provide assistance, and creating conditions in which immigrants are increasingly vulnerable to violence.
Enacting these policies will exacerbate the risk of gender-based violence along the U.S. southern border, as women and girls are left vulnerable to abuse and exploitation in increasingly precarious conditions. The impact of these laws will be felt statewide and will serve to cultivate a climate of fear among survivors of gender-based violence seeking asylum in the U.S. while undermining protections guaranteed to survivors under federal law.
Texas has a legal and moral obligation to protect all asylum seekers and immigrants, particularly women, children, and all who experience gender-based violence, from further harm. The Tahirih Justice Center calls on Texans to join in solidarity with immigrant survivors of gender-based violence to support humane and trauma-informed immigration policies.
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