Discrimination against Survivors of Domestic and Sexual Violence

Have You Faced Discrimination Because You Experienced Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Harassment or Assault, or Stalking?

Survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual harassment or assault, and stalking can face problems with their housing, jobs, schools, and in other situations because of the abuse they have experienced.

For example:
•Some landlords have chosen to evict survivors based on noise or property damage caused by the abuser, even when the abuser did not live in the home.
•Some cities or police departments are pressuring landlords to evict tenants whenever criminal activity, including domestic violence, occurs at a property.
•Some tenants feel like they cannot call the police to report domestic violence because they face eviction if they call too many times.
•Some employers have fired victims because they needed to take time off to go to court to get an order of protection.
•Some schools have failed to respond adequately when a student complains that he or she has been sexually assaulted.

This kind of conduct may violate federal and state laws.

The ACLU is engaged in advocacy and litigation on behalf of survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual harassment or assault, and stalking who experience discrimination because they have been subjected to violence and abuse. For more information and resources, click here.

We would like to hear from you if you have faced or are facing discrimination because you experienced domestic violence, dating violence, sexual harassment or assault, or stalking. We are particularly interested in housing and employment discrimination but would also like to hear about other situations. The information you provide in this questionnaire will be kept confidential unless we contact you and obtain your permission to share it with others. Please provide detailed responses where necessary. Thank you.

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First Name: *

Last Name: *

City: *

State: *

E-mail:

Phone:

Gender:

Race/Ethnicity:

Did you experience discrimination from your landlord, employer, or school? Or did the discrimination involve another situation?

When and where did the discrimination occur?

What is the name of the person, company, landlord, employer, or school, etc. that discriminated against you?

Please explain why you think the discrimination was connected to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual harassment or assault, or stalking:

Did you file a legal complaint regarding the discrimination? If yes, please describe what happened:

This Survey does not give legal advice, and you should not rely on it as legal advice. You should not rely on the information you get from this site and should speak with a lawyer to get advice on your specific situation. We also cannot promise that the information on this site is complete, accurate, or up-to-date.

This Survey is not a solicitation or an offer by the American Civil Liberties Union and its affiliates to represent you. We cannot promise you that the information you provide will lead to any specific action on the American Civil Liberties Union or its affiliates part. Once you complete the survey, the American Civil Liberties Union may not do anything—including contact you—about your situation.

If you fill out this Survey, you agree that the American Civil Liberties Union, the national ACLU or its affiliates, if identified as part of the Survey, or one of its coalition partners may use the information you give us, as long as we don’t include your name, address, email or phone number, for one or more of the following purposes: (1) legislative testimony, (2) litigation; (3) contacting a city, state or federal agency; or (4) telling your story to the public, including the media. If the American Civil Liberties Union, the national ACLU or its affiliates, or one of its coalition partners wants to identify you, we will contact you prior to doing so.

We will keep your name, address, telephone number and email confidential unless you give us permission to use it or unless we are ordered to turn it over by a court (although we will attempt to prevent any disclosure).

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