Women's Legal Aid Fund

Gender-based violence has many forms: verbal, psychological, physical, sexual, economic. Women living in an abusive relationship often suffer from many different types of violence. At least 90% of abused women are also victims of economic violence, which makes them financially dependent on their abusers. When they finally leave the abusive relationship, they often lack the financial means necessary for their divorce or child custody litigation. It is a common problem in Hungary that the court grants visitation rights to fathers who used to abuse their ex-partners. If mothers deny visitation rights to their ex-abusers out of fear for their child's safety or at the child's request, they face severe fines which they are often unable to pay. Women's Legal Aid Fund provides help in such cases.

Women's Legal Aid Fund is a virtual money bank: those who have the means can put some money in, and those in need can request financial assistance from it. The Fund aims to make life a bit easier for women trying to leave behind very difficult situations, as well as to ensure access to justice for victims. Women's Legal Aid Fund is operated by PATENT and is funded by occasional fundraising campaigns. Women who are facing legal costs they cannot afford to pay while leaving their abusive relationships can apply for financial support from the Fund using an online application form. PATENT team will jointly review the applications, and the applicant will receive the awarded amount directly.

The Women's Legal Aid Fund has a coordinator who is responsible for communicating with the beneficiaries and for the administration of payments. The coordinator presents the incoming applications to the PATENT staff, and after a joint decision has been made, responds to the applicant and arranges the payment together with the financial coordinator. PATENT's communication and fundraising team is responsible for the fundraising campaigns, usually held annually, which aim to bring in donations to the Fund.

The uniqueness of the Women's Legal Aid Fund lies in its simplicity and accessibility. It is not only our clients who trust us, but we trust them in return. When an abused woman contacts us, briefly describing her story and sending us official documents justifying her legal expenses, we believe her; we do not subject her to unnecessary rounds of interviews, and we don't ask for heaps of documents as evidence. We know that when it comes to court cases and fines, the Hungarian saying holds dobly true: "She who gives quickly gives twice."

We inform our followers about the Women's Legal Aid Fund from time to time, most extensively during our annual fundraising campaign, when we communicate about the Fund with 14 thousand of our followers on our Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as our 20 thousand newsletter subscribers. In our campaign last year, we shared the stories of three of our beneficiaries in order to give a bit of insight into the human stories behind the numbers, and the particularly difficult life situations that the Fund attempts to help. These messages have the power to shape attitudes far beyond the Fund: our followers also learn about the nature of abuse, access to justice, and the true protection of victims. And most importantly: they get the chance to stand in solidarity with abused women.