by Areesa Aslam
Interning at the Scottish Women’s Right Centre (SWRC) over the summer was an invaluable experience that taught me so much. Having volunteered with SWRC through Strathclyde University Law Clinic for two years, the internship felt like a natural next step. Working alongside the team at JustRight Scotland (JRS) gave me hands-on experience in a professional legal environment, building on my university studies and helping me take my first steps towards a legal career.
My experience
One of the most valuable parts of my internship was sitting in on legal case surgeries. I observed how solicitors and caseworkers interact with clients, explain advice and adapt their language to help survivors understand their options. This showed me how important clear communication is in supporting survivors. Taking case notes during these sessions also strengthened my writing skills, as I had to capture relevant information under time pressure.
The internship, and particularly the legal case surgeries, helped me understand the complex issues surrounding gender-based violence (GBV), including housing, childcare and divorce. I saw how GBV can affect every aspect of a survivor’s life, and how essential SWRC’s work is in providing not only legal representation but also a sense of stability and support.
Alongside the legal case surgeries, I researched different areas of law and supported solicitors with tasks for ongoing cases. Editing a schedule of key passages for one case gave me valuable insight into how solicitors assess the relevance of primary and secondary sources. I feel this skill will help me both at university and as I progress through my legal career. These research tasks also opened my eyes to broader issues facing many women today, including intimate image-based abuse and the rise of deepfakes. Exploring these issues helped me understand the barriers to prosecuting such abuse and having it recognised as a form of violence.
Working through these issues and hearing about survivors’ experiences of navigating the legal system brought home the impact of the legal aid crisis. I learned how a lack of solicitors offering legal aid can leave survivors unable to access the support and representation they need, even when they are entitled to it.
Helping to write an updated guide to accessing legal representation made these difficulties even clearer. The guide highlights barriers to accessing legal aid and sets out alternative routes to legal representation where legal aid is not available. Working on it was a valuable learning experience. Although the circumstances behind the update are difficult, I hope the completed guide will be a useful source of support for survivors.
In the final few weeks of my internship, I had the privilege of observing a court hearing via Zoom. This was a new and exciting experience: I saw how the courts operate and how they have adapted to online proceedings. It helped me appreciate how remote attendance can benefit survivors, particularly those who are more vulnerable or unable to attend in person. As with the legal case surgeries, taking notes in a higher-pressure environment strengthened my writing skills and gave me further insight into the profession.
My highlight of the internship was working alongside the team at JRS. From the beginning, I felt very welcome and received so much helpful advice. The team made my time at SWRC an experience I’ll never forget. Joining their team day out to Mosob, followed by a walking tour, was great fun despite the awful weather. It also made me genuinely excited about life after university and what the future might hold.
Next Steps
My next steps are to focus on my final year of university and look for a traineeship to begin after I complete the diploma. My summer at SWRC also inspired the topic of my fourth-year dissertation: intimate image-based abuse, and whether the law in the UK and Europe is equipped to deal with the increasing use of AI-powered nudifying apps.
Overall, my internship at SWRC was an extremely positive experience. Thank you to everyone at JRS for making me feel so welcome, and especially to the SWRC team for their support. I am particularly grateful to Laura for her guidance throughout the summer and for being such a great mentor.
