Justice At Last Founder Honored with 2021 Barbara Hammerman Award for Domestic Violence Prevention Efforts
The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors at its meeting today honored Rose Mukhar as its 2021 winner of the annual Barbara Hammerman Award, citing her "outstanding service and devout dedication to the prevention of intimate partner violence."
Rose Mukhar is the Founder, Executive Director, and Principal Attorney of Justice At Last which opened its doors in 2015. Since that time, Justice At Last has provided services to over 500 survivors and has especially provided critical support to survivors during COVID-19.
During COVID-19, Mukhar and Justice At Last, has assisted survivors with crime victims' rights advocacy, immigration relief, clearing criminal records, gaining custody of and increasing visitation time with their children as well as helping with applications for unemployment insurance and other public benefits. She primarily works with survivors of human trafficking who are often also survivors of domestic violence, and, in particular, with commercially sexually exploited children.
Rose began her legal career volunteering for CORA back in 2009 representing women and children survivors of gender-based violence. She later expanded her pro bono practice to include immigration representation of asylum seekers including survivors of domestic violence fleeing their home country because no protections were afforded to them. Over the course of her immigration practice Rose recognized that some of her clients were also victims of human trafficking and she further expanded her practice to include trafficking survivors. Recognizing the intersections of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking Rose founded Justice At Last in 2015 to provide trafficking survivors legal representation and wrap-around support services throughout the Bay Area. Justice At Last is currently serving over 45 survivors who were trafficked here in San Mateo County and at least 9 have experienced intimate partner violence.
Rose is known for providing a holistic approach to legal advocacy and provides survivors with a platform to be heard, the choice to define and achieve their own justice; and an opportunity to change the trajectory of their lives.
Not only does Rose lead Justice At Last, but she serves on the San Mateo County Domestic Violence Council as a Member-At-Large since 2018. Learn more about her work and Justice At Last at https://www.justiceatlast.org/.