Carmen Williams is the Language Access and Immigration Legal Services Manager for the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance. In this position, Carmen provides direct legal services to survivors of sexual violence, intimate partner violence, stalking, trafficking, hate crimes, and other forms of interpersonal violence, with an emphasis on language access and working with survivors who are immigrants so that survivors receive and/or are connected to vital legal services linked to healing.
Carmen managed the statewide toll-free Family Violence and Sexual Assault Hotline for 9 years. The statewide hotline is answered by trained staff and volunteers 24/7 for callers who are victims/survivors of sexual and domestic violence, and also for their friends, family members, professionals and the general public.
Along with her work on the hotline and now the legal services, Carmen worked on the Immigration Advocacy Technical Assistance Project in collaboration with immigration victim service providers in Virginia, including the Tahirih Justice Center and the Virginia Poverty Law Center to expand support and resources available to SDVAs and communities; provided technical assistance to SDVAs on services to immigrant victims, including human trafficking.
Carmen is also a community organizer and at the present time, she is a member of Casa de Esperanza’s Policy Advisory Council, a national organization on issues related to sexual and domestic violence in the Latinx community and member of the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates. Carmen also was a board member of the Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Board of Directors of the American Red Cross-Richmond Chapter and member of the Governor’s Latino Advisory Board during Governor McDonnell administration,
Carmen is a member of St. Augustine Catholic Church, a former member of the pastoral council and vice-president of the Hispanic Committee.
Carmen is Peruvian and holds a law degree from Peru and a master’s degree in International Legal Studies from the American University – Washington College of Law.