Victim Rights Law Center Sexual Assault Awareness Month Virtual Event
Tuesday, April 29th from 12:00 - 1:00 pm ET Virtual Panel (1:00 - 1:15 pm ET Live Q&A)

Legal Insights 2025: Key Issues in Sexual Violence Law
In recognition of the 2025 Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) theme, “Together We Act, United We Change,” Victim Rights Law Center (VRLC) invites attorneys, advocates, and community members to connect with a national audience at our upcoming virtual panel exploring current key issues and updates in sexual violence law. 

2025 Topics:

• Surviving the Storm: Supporting Survivors Amid Funding Uncertainty 
• Safeguarding Immigrant Survivors: Navigating an Increasingly Hostile Landscape 
• Image-Based Sexual Abuse and the Rise of Deepfakes in Technology-Facilitated Violence 
• Title IX Advocacy in the Era of Department of Education Cuts

This 60-minute discussion will delve into current developments in sexual violence law. A 15-minute Question & Answer session with panelists will follow. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with experts navigating this ever-evolving legal landscape!

Legal Insights Panelists

• Maura Crossin, Esq., VRLC Assistant Director of Training and Consultation, has spent her professional career working with survivors of gender-based violence. Maura uses her extensive experience assisting survivors with safety/privacy, housing, employment, education, compensation, and benefits matters to train other attorneys and service providers on a variety of topics nationwide.
• Tiffany Hester, Esq., VRLC’s Senior Education Attorney, provides training and consultation to attorneys and legal advocates nationwide who work with youth survivors of gender-based violence on legal issues arising in K-12 education settings. Tiffany’s background includes working for the Kansas State Department of Education, where she provided support and training to parents, advocates, and K-12 school staff regarding special education law and dispute resolution.
• Stephanie Friends Holt, Esq., VRLC’s Deputy Director for Operations, has helped hundreds of sexual assault survivors navigate their employment concerns as well as their privacy and safety needs. Stephanie frequently counsels survivors who are threatened by perpetrators with defamation lawsuits intended to intimidate and silence them from sharing their experiences.  
• Stacy Malone, Esq., VRLC’s Executive Director, is a rape survivor who has dedicated her career to increasing legal access to sexual assault survivors. Her essay, “The Power of Survivor-Defined Justice,” is in the anthology Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World. 
• Shannon Masden, VRLC Assistant Director of Training and Consultation, has a varied background in social work, community organizing, civil rights policy implementation, and trauma-informed violence prevention work. Shannon has worked in a variety for roles on college campuses where her primary focus was overseeing campus-wide responses to discrimination and harassment related to sex, gender, and disability.
• Amanda Walsh, Esq., VRLC’s Deputy Director for External Affairs, is a national expert in Title IX and issues impacting student-survivors of sexual assault in both K-12 and higher education settings. A former Title IX coordinator, she has trained thousands of campus administrators and provides ongoing technical assistance to legal advocates and attorneys. Amanda continues to represent sexual assault victims in Title IX investigations, special education matters, and school safety issues.  
• Keighly Rector, Esq., is the Director of the Immigration Project at Volunteers of Legal Service (VOLS) and has dedicated her career to fostering impactful pro bono partnerships and mentoring initiatives. She has been practicing law for over 10 years, specializing in humanitarian immigration relief and removal defense. Keighly is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), serving on the Executive Committee for the Connecticut Chapter and several committees for the New York City Chapter.

This panel is live and will not be recorded.
ASL intepretation will be provided.
Maximum of 500 attendees.