About Us

Legal Aid and Consultancy Center (LACC) is a pioneering non-profit, women-led feminist and women’s rights organization dedicated to building a just and equitable society by promoting the rule of law and protecting human rights. Established in 1987 and officially registered in 1993 under the Association Registration Act of 1977, LACC has for nearly four decades safeguarded the rights of women, girls, children, persons with disabilities, sexual and gender minorities, conflict victims, survivors of gender-based violence, and informal sector workers. Its work centers on expanding access to justice, protecting rights, and promoting inclusion, while envisioning a society where all individuals live with dignity, equality, and protection under the law.

LACC provides free legal aid, psychosocial counseling, mediation, paralegal services, and court representation, alongside policy advocacy, legislative drafting, human rights training, awareness campaigns, and community empowerment initiatives. Led by a team of highly qualified female lawyers, the organization conducts outreach programs such as mobile legal camps and grassroots awareness drives, while mentoring and training the next generation of feminist lawyers through clinical legal education, leadership development, and capacity-building. With its holistic approach spanning grassroots empowerment, regional advocacy, and national policy reform, LACC remains committed to dismantling systemic barriers, challenging harmful social norms, strengthening women’s leadership, and ensuring dignity, equality, and justice for all.

Mission

Contribute to creating the rule of law and a non-discriminatory society and upholding the rights and dignity of women, children, persons with disabilities, and sexual and gender minorities by protecting human rights and promoting access to justice, empowerment, and inclusion.

Vision

Creation of an equitable and just society

Goal

Respect, protect, and promote human rights by ensuring the dignified life of women, children, persons with disabilities, and sexual and gender minorities from marginalized communities.

Our Intervention Model

To achieve this mission, LACC employs a unique and interconnected intervention model that operates across three levels:

1. Meso Level – Shaping Law (Advocacy)

LACC undertakes rigorous policy research and studies to identify gaps in existing laws and evaluate the effectiveness of their implementation. Building on these findings, the organization engages in targeted advocacy to strengthen enforcement, propose amendments, or introduce new legislation. As needed, LACC facilitates policy dialogues, drafts legal frameworks, conducts consultations, and undertakes lobbying and advocacy initiatives. It also files Public Interest Litigation (PIL) to advance policy review and development, ensuring that laws remain responsive to the rights and needs of women, children, and marginalized communities.

2. Macro Level – Using Law (Action)

At this level, LACC empowers individuals and communities to claim, assert, and enjoy their rights. The organization advocates the effective implementation of laws and policies while strengthening justice systems through networking, collaboration, and campaigning. Regionally, LACC promotes gender-responsive justice for women, girls, and marginalized groups with intersecting identities. Core services include providing free legal aid to survivors of sexual and Gender based violence (SGBV), paralegal support, pro bono representation, referrals, psychosocial counseling, and mediation. LACC also conducts orientations on gender-responsive justice, organizes workshops to mainstream Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) and behavioral change in justice delivery, raises awareness about harmful practices and social norms, and engages stakeholders through consultations, collaboration, media outreach, and coordination. Together, these efforts enhance access to justice and foster systemic change.

3. Micro Level – Knowing Law (Awareness)

At the grassroots level, LACC focuses on empowering communities with knowledge of the law. Key activities include awareness-raising, orientations, capacity-building programs, legal education, and the development of resource materials. Community outreach initiatives, public service announcements, and media mobilization ensure that communities are informed and equipped to access justice. In line with its commitment to “empower the community for the community,” LACC strengthens grassroots women’s organizations, SGBV survivors, and service recipients to become community justice actors and paralegals, facilitating justice locally. Furthermore, LACC builds the capacity of both formal and informal community-based justice actors, integrating behavioral change approaches to improve gender-responsive access to justice.

Core Value

At the heart of LACC’s mission are values that ensure justice is both ethical and inclusive. We uphold good governance, integrity, and professionalism, guided by a strong human rights-based commitment and respect for human dignity. Our work is rooted in gender equality, social inclusiveness, and democratic principles, strengthened by participation, collaboration, and non-partisan leadership. With an innovative and growth mindset, we embrace diversity, empower communities, and build partnerships that drive sustainable change.

Our “4 F” Approach

Freedom and Human Rights-based Approach

Emphasize realizing rights through evidence-based advocacy grounded in human rights standards and principles, while ensuring that interventions remain victim, survivor, and people-centered.

Feminist Approach

Rooted in equity and equality, leaving no one behind, and focuses particularly on women and girls by addressing intersecting dimensions of inequality such as class, caste, and disability.

Fellowship Approach

LACC promotes community empowerment, mobilization, mentoring, and equal participation, fostering cooperation, coordination, co-existence, and strengthening partnerships, networking, and collaboration.

Foundational Values Approach

Ensures that all program decisions are based on core ethical principles of equity, inclusion, diversity, and empowerment, while maximizing efficiency and economic value. It prioritizes integrity, conflict sensitivity, and the principle of “do no harm,” ensuring that justice initiatives are both ethical and sustainable.