IBJ and Shaanxi Research Association for Women and Family co-hosted “Women and Children Advocacy Training” at Meiyuan Hotel in Xi’an on August 21, 2008 to specifically address how to protect the legal rights of women and children in China.There were 38 participants at the event, including 23 legal aid lawyers from private firms affiliated with the Research Association for Women and Family. Six participants were from the less developed counties in southern Shaanxi, including a vice director of a justice bureau and a director from one county’s legal aid center.

Prosecutor Wang Chaoyong discusses China’s protection of women and children		Participants engaging in role-playing exercises

The training was held in response to an invitation by Shaanxi Research Association for Women and Family, an NGO that engages in helping women and children victims. Prosecutor Wang Chaoyong first gave an overview of China’s protection of women and children through a historical, cultural, legislative, psychological and economic perspective. IBJ’s Northwest Regional Director Peter Lowrie followed up with a lecture on the rules and philosophy in case assessment and highlighted a hypothetical case that encouraged participants to develop and organize their own case theory.

By combining both an eastern and western legal perspective to the programming materials, legal aid lawyers were given a broader and more practical approach on working with criminal issues and preparing for cases in the future.