Forging a Safer South Africa

Members of the Black Law Students Association at the University of Virginia School of Law returned to Cape Town, South Africa, to aid efforts aimed at reducing violence.

Allison Burns ’22, Ambroise Decilap ’21, Jordin Dickerson ’20, Natasha Halloran ’21, Jordan LaPointe ’22 and Tiffany Mickel ’22 collectively volunteered roughly 210 pro bono hours during their winter break in January through the organization’s annual service trip.

The students partnered with London-based Norton Rose Fulbright’s pro bono team, mostly doing research and writing. They conducted research for the nonprofit Gun Free South Africa and made curriculum recommendations regarding how to create training for magistrate judges on the nation’s Firearms Control Act. The students also conducted research on gender-based violence on university campuses for the Commission for Gender Equality, a government agency, and presented their findings to their Western Cape provincial manager.

“Our presentation summarized American federal laws such as Title IX and the Clery Act, made recommendations about how to better collect data regarding gender-based violence at universities, and made suggestions regarding how to implement programs — like the mandatory training modules here at UVA — to reduce the occurrence of gender-based violence,” Decilap said.

Outside of their pro bono work, the students visited Franschhoek, a historic winemaking region, and Robben Island, where political prisoners like Nelson Mandela, who went on to serve as the nation’s president, had been incarcerated.

BLSA students also traveled to Cape Town previously to aid residents displaced by apartheid.

Each year, BLSA organizes a service trip abroad, and students apply for a limited number of spots. Past destinations have included Tanzania and Uganda. Those who are accepted receive paid travel expenses and accommodations through BLSA’s relationships with participating law firms.