Women's Legal Services NSW
The Women's Legal Service NSW (WLS NSW) formerly the Women's Legal Resource Center, is an independent, non-aligned, non-profit organisation funded by the Australian Commonwealth and State Governments. It is part of the Community Legal Centre Network. WLS NSW promotes access to justice, particularly for women who are disadvantaged by their social or economic circumstances. Work. WLS NSW is dedicated to promoting women's human rights and social justice statewide. The organisation: WLS NSW has a strong domestic violence focus, pioneering a trauma informed and qualitative approach to advice and advocacy for  victims. Other major areas of practice include discrimination in employment (Working Women's Legal Services) family law, parenting issues, victims support and sexual assault. Ethos. WLS NSW works from a feminist perspective. Through casework, education, training and reform WLS NSW intends to promote legal and social change to redress the inequalities women experience. "“Women’s Legal Service NSW works from a feminist perspective to promote access to justice for women in NSW. We seek to promote women’s human rights, redress inequalities experienced by women and to foster legal and social change through strategic legal services, community development, community legal  education and law and policy reform work. We prioritize women who are disadvantaged by their cultural, social and economic circumstances. We focus on areas of law that most directly have a gendered impact on women. This includes domestic violence, sexual assault, family law care and protection, and discrimination.”" – Women’s Legal Service NSW Annual Report 2017/18 The Indigenous Women’s Legal Program (IWLP). In 1996 with the aid of Federal Government funding, WLS NSW founded the Indigenous Women's Legal Program in consultation with Aboriginal women. The Indigenous Women's Legal Program is staffed by Aboriginal women and offers services  including: free legal advice, assistance finding a lawyer, training and community workshops, resources and information about the law, face to face advice through outreach services and community legal education across NSW, including in Blackett, Campbelltown, Cranebrook, Emerton and Liverpool. The aim of the IWLP is to provide services that best meet the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women. In 2000 Women's Legal Services (at that time the Women's Legal Resource Center) received the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Law Award for its specialized Aboriginal women's services. Partnerships. WLS NSW has developed a number of  partnerships in order to promote access to justice, these include: History. In 1982, a group of female legal activists founded Australia's first legal service for women. The Women's Legal Resources Centre (WLRC) was established to promote access to justice through the provision of legal services, law reform, and community legal education; particularly for women disadvantaged by social and economic circumstances. In 1986, the Women's Legal Resources Center recognized the need for a community legal center dedicated solely to women experiencing domestic violence. The Domestic Violence Advocacy Service (DVAS) was established to provide advice, advocacy, information, and education , in addition to developing policy and working towards law reform. This service has since been re-named the Domestic Violence Legal Service. Between 1995 and 1998, the Women's Legal Resources Center established five Legal Outreach services across Western Sydney and in Wyong, enabling women to receive face-to-face legal advice in their local areas. Due to resource constraints the Campbelltown and Wyong services were discontinued in 2010. In 1996, with the aid of Federal Government funding, the Women’s Legal Resources Center formed the Indigenous Women’s Program (now called the Indigenous Women’s Legal Program). This program  aims to improve the services offered to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, providing free legal advice, referrals to other community and legal organisations, training, and community workshops. In 1996, the NSW Government, through the Legal Aid Commission of NSW, provided funding to set up a Training and Resource unit for the Women’s Domestic Violence Court Assistance Program. This unit provides training and resources to Women’s Domestic Violence Court Assistance Schemes (WDVCAS) throughout NSW (now called Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Services) and administrative support and resources to the WDVCAS Network and is now provided by Legal  Aid NSW. As the Women's Legal Resources Center (WLRC) grew and developed its diverse programs, the board of directors changed the name of the service to Women's Legal Services NSW in 2003, to better reflect the work of the organisation. Until 2010, Women's Legal Services NSW sponsored the Walgett and Bourke/Brewarrina Family Violence Prevention Legal Services (WFVPLS & BBFVPLS), which were funded by the Commonwealth Attorney General's Department. The Family Violence Prevention Legal Services aimed to facilitate community development in the prevention of family violence. The services combined legal resources with skills training, group and individual  support, community education and advocacy. They are now under the auspices of Thiyama-li in Moree.