L-R: Professor Lisa Martin, Columbus School of Law; Ananti Rajasingam, Centre Manager, Nur Salam Foundation Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Ume Sibaio Wainetti, National Program Coordinator, Family and Sexual Violence Action Committee, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea; and Gemma Falloran Parojinog, Attorney, Legal and Investigation Division, Commission on Human Rights, Quezon City, Philippines.
Professor Lisa Martin Hosts International
Visitors to Discuss Protections for Women
Catholic University’s Columbus Community Legal Services was the first stop for a group of women representing East Asian and Pacific nations as they began a three-week tour of the United States as guests of the State Department.
The group's visit to the U.S. came about through the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program, a 72 year-old endeavor that seeks to build mutual understanding between the U.S. and other nations through carefully designed short-term visits to the U.S. for current and emerging foreign leaders.
The three women, from Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines, are in the country as participants in a specific program, “Women Leaders Fighting Domestic Violence and Abuse, A Sub-Regional Project for East Asia and the Pacific.”
Clinical Associate Lisa Martin hosted the meeting at the law school’s legal clinic on Aug. 7.
“My role was to discuss current issues and advances in fighting domestic and gender-based violence at the national and international levels, as well as current policies and legislation in the field,” says Martin, who has published and lectured extensively on the issues of domestic violence, emergency protection orders, and family law, as well as immigration.
More than 5,000 International Visitors come to the United States from all over the world each year. They travel in a variety of thematic programs, either individually or in groups, for up to three weeks. They attend professional appointments with their American counterparts; learn about the U.S. system of government at the national, state and local levels, visit American schools, and experience American culture and social life.