About Taboo

I embarked on my legal career in Chicago, Illinois running a statewide program for immigrant survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. I ultimately represented several hundred clients who were trapped in abusive relationships by family members who manipulated immigration laws as a tool to perpetuate abuse, often threatening them with deportation.

In 2007, I made a pivotal shift when I took on a full-time role in Iraq, spearheading human rights programs for Heartland Alliance International. This move marked a transformative phase in my legal career, as it afforded me a deeper understanding of the cultural nuances, societal context, and familial pressures that I had previously only heard about through my immigrant clients.

Over more than a decade in Iraq, I gained insights into how women’s NGOs, in particular, creatively adapted traditional tribal negotiation techniques to advance human rights and protection. I worked with Kurdish women’s rights advocates to meticulously document these negotiation techniques in a manner that was attuned to both sensitivities related to interpersonal societal dynamics and human rights principles.

I developed a practitioner manual to train other advocates to employ these techniques in cases where women and girls are unable to access justice through traditional legal channels. I also designed and secured funding for a program promoting access to justice for women affected by gender-based violence in Iraq’s criminal and family courts, and since 2014, I have worked with survivors of genocide perpetrated by ISIS.

When ISIS abducted and sexually enslaved thousands of women and girls from the Yezidi community, I witnessed the darkest side of humanity through survivors’ firsthand accounts. I also observed countless individuals and organizations extracting detailed accounts of atrocities from survivors in ways that undermined their dignity and safety. My groundbreaking research with Dr. Johanna Foster in Voices of Yezidi Women (2018) documented unethical practices in reporting on sexual violence committed against Yezidi women and girl survivors. Through tour joint efforts, we shone spotlight on how survivors perceived the ways their stories were gathered and published. Since then, I have spoken widely on the topic of ethically documenting conflict-related sexual violence and have contributed to the development of ethical guidelines promulgated by the EU Dart Center and the International Institute of Criminal Investigations (IICI) that produced The Murad Code.

Through Taboo, I leverage my extensive expertise to offer consultancy services that are customized to meet the diverse needs of my clients—from NGOs to international development firms and journalists to documentary filmmakers. I offer a suite of services, including capacity building, technical assistance, documentation and analysis of conflict-related sexual violence, and comprehensive support in designing, implementing, and evaluating programs with a focus on justice and human rights. I am licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois and has worked with respected organizations such as the International Organization for Migration, the  Washington College of Law’s International Human Rights Law Institute, Mercy Corps, Management Systems International, and Heartland Alliance International, among others. I also completed a course on Investigative Interviewing Skills at the International Institute for Criminal Investigations in The Hague.