The legal clinic records 54 legal consultations given to female journalists and activists in 2019

The legal clinic at Governorate Center for Public Policy, in cooperation with the Iraqi Women’s Informatics Forum, registered 54 legal consultations for female journalists and activists.

The director of the legal clinic, Rajaa Abd Ali, confirmed that the work of the clinic during the year 2019, which lasted nine months, provided legal advice through several tools that included field visits and private phone calls to women from remote areas in Baghdad and the provinces, in addition to direct follow-up of some cases in the specialized courts,
She added that the clinic provided 21 legal consultations related to personal status and domestic violence, 12 consultations with criminal cases, 10 related to reputation defamation and electronic extortion, 5 cases related to the court of first instance, three related to pension benefits, and three others concerned with the registration of civil society organizations, in addition to a consultation and one related to bail.

The number of reports completed on these consultations was eight narrative reports that included the number of women according to work. The number of women working in the field of journalism reached 31 media workers, while those working in civil society were 24 activists and journalists.

The director of the legal clinic pointed out that the clinic’s success in providing legal aid to female journalists and activists encouraged media men to use the clinic for the purpose of obtaining legal advice, especially as the clinic announced in advance that it had opened its doors to receive complaints and provide free consultations since May 2019.

It is mentioned that the legal clinic project is part of the small grant projects launched by the Iraqi Women’s Informatics Forum in cooperation with the Canadian Alternatives Organization and with the assistance of the European Union within the project of protection and safety of women journalists and human rights defenders.