Hayat Bearat
Associate Clinical Professor of Law; Director, Domestic Violence Institute
Education
New England Law | Boston, JD 2014
Bio
Professor Hayat Bearat serves as director of Northeastern Law’s Domestic Violence Institute. Prior to joining Northeastern, Professor Bearat was a visiting professor and director of the Family Violence Litigation Clinic at Albany Law School. Her scholarship focuses on child marriages in the United States and the obstacles immigrant survivors of domestic violence face in family court. Her most recent article, “I Thought I Would Have a Voice: Unveiling the Barriers Immigrant Survivors of Domestic Violence Face in the United States Courts,” is forthcoming in the The Wisconsin Journal of Law, Gender & Society.
Prior to becoming a clinical professor, Professor Bearat practiced in New York city for seven years, and spent five years in the Domestic Violence Law Unit at the New York Legal Assistance Group. Professor Bearat represented survivors of domestic violence in family and supreme court in cases involving divorce, child custody, child and spousal support, visitation and family offenses. Professor Bearat worked closely with clients from Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) immigrant communities to help clients understand and navigate the legal system while remaining sensitive to cultural differences and issues. Prior to joining NYLAG, Professor Bearat was a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society, where she represented tenants in their housing court proceedings in the Bronx.
Professor Bearat received her JD from New England Law | Boston in 2014, where she was on the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court and did research at the Harvard Kennedy School Carr Center for Human Rights on violence against women and girls in the MENA region and focusing specifically on early and forced marriages.
Selected Works
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- “Shackled From Birth, How the Family Policing System in the United States Traps Children in a Cycle of Violence.” In The International Handbook of Child Protection: Laws, Rights, Policies and Practices (Springer Nature, forthcoming) (co-author).
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- “I am Pregnant, but is it my Death Sentence?,” New York University Journal of Legislation and Public Policy (forthcoming).
- “I Thought I Would Have a Voice: Unveiling the Barriers Immigrant Survivors of Domestic Violence Face in the United States Courts,” 39 Wisconsin Journal of Law, Gender & Society 109 (2025).
- “Caged by a Marriage: How Child Marriages in the United States Are Enabled by Our Immigration System,” 71 Drake Law Review 1 (2024).
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“Opponents of Child Marriage in America Hail Recent Wins in an Uphill Battle,” The New York Sun (November 15, 2025).
- “Public Interest Profile,” Reuters’ Practical Law Journal (August 01, 2025).
- “Diddy Was Acquitted of Sex Trafficking, but Found Guilty of Other Charges. What’s Next for Him?,” Northeastern Global News (July 2, 2025).
- “Why Domestic Violence Survivors May Not Be Able to ‘Just Leave’ Abusive Relationships,” ABC News (July 1, 2025).
- “Jay-Z and Diddy Allegations Spotlight Challenges Faced by Sexual Assault Survivors,” Northeastern Global News (December 19, 2024).
- “More Victims Likely To Come Forward Following Sean Combs’ Arrest for Trafficking, Northeastern Experts Say,” Northeastern Global News (October 2, 2024).
- “An Olympic Runner Was Just Killed by Her Partner, Showing How Domestic Violence ‘Affects Every Single Person’,” Northeastern Global News (September 6, 2024).
- “How Does ‘It Ends With Us’ Approach Domestic Violence? An Expert Explains the Impact,” Northeastern Global News (August 13, 2024).
- “Child Marriage Havens Emerging Across America,” Newsweek (June 13, 2024).
- “The Battle to Ban Child Marriage in America,” Newsweek (May 28, 2024).
- “New Hampshire Legislators Pass Bill to Ban Child Marriage. Changing US Immigration Laws Should Be Next, Expert Says,” Northeastern Global News (May 7, 2024).
- “New Bedford Police Sergeant Under Internal Investigation,” The New Bedford Light (November 2, 2023).
- “New York Waived the Statute of Limitations for Civil Sex Abuse Suits for a Year. Should Other States Follow Suit?,” Northeastern Global News (December 7, 2023).
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Hayat Bearat
Associate Clinical Professor of Law; Director, Domestic Violence Institute