On March 24, Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined Esta Soler, President of Futures Without Violence to lead the Women’s History Month Roundtable. The two were accompanied by domestic violence survivors and advocates to celebrate the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act and to recognize the tremendous resources granted through the American Rescue Plan.
Since the 1990s and the first Violence Against Women Act, there has been over a 60% reduction in domestic violence rates among adult women in the United States. Soler announced that the new Violence Against Women Act expands funding for culturally specific programs, creates a dedicated program for LGBTQ survivors, and more.
Shona Pikula, one among many survivors of domestic violence in attendance that morning, is a direct recipient of the funding through the Justice and Diversity Center (JDC) of the Bar Association of San Francisco. She spoke about the emotional toll and difficulty of fighting for her child in court. “I couldn’t do it without JDC, and I couldn’t do it without this funding. Thank you so much for all the work that you do because the domestic violence community is so underserved and we are so misrepresented,” said Pikula.
Pikula acknowledged the direct support she received from Antonia More, Director/Managing Attorney, Pro Bono Legal Services, and Alex Mendoza. “What was I going to do in court? How am I going to do this? I’m a single mother, I work, I don’t have time for this,” she expressed. “Antonia and Alex have swooped in and they have saved my emotional sanity. They’re saving my child from even having to go through this.”
She concluded her speech by emphasizing the inaccessibility of resources for survivors of domestic violence outside of San Francisco. “It needs to be bigger. We need more. We need these services everywhere.”
Pikula continued on to engage in advocacy work as a case manager for years in San Francisco, and she currently serves on the Domestic Violence Consortium. The struggle she endured shaped her ambitions to go to law school and she aims to eventually work for JDC as a domestic violence attorney. Watch the full speech given by Pikula here.
If you or someone you know could benefit from the services provided by JDC, click here to learn more.
