Assemblyman Steve Stern (D-Huntington) announced that he helped pass a domestic violence legislative package to enable more victims and survivors to seek justice and rebuild their lives away from their abusers.

“As more victims and survivors come forward and courageously tell their stories, they deserve to know we believe and support them,” Stern said. “Escaping the cycle of abuse is hard, but it can be done, as the brave women who have spoken out about the alleged abuse they were subjected to by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman have shown us. His alleged actions are despicable, and it is painful to think anyone had to endure that. I thank those women for their courage – they deserve to be heard and see justice served. No one is above the law.”

In the U.S., more than 10 million women and men are victims of severe physical violence by an intimate partner every year.1 Those are just the reported cases – countless acts of domestic violence go unreported due to fear and stigma that discourage victims from speaking out, noted Stern. To help survivors overcome these potential barriers, the legislation:

• allows victims of domestic violence to break a telephone, cable or broadband contract, as well as a shared or family wireless contract, without incurring cancellation fees (A.1056, A.946-A);
• requires hospitals to establish procedures regarding domestic violence and ongoing training programs for staff, and to designate a hospital staff member to coordinate services for victims (A.4014-A); and
• allows non-physically injured victims of certain charges, such as criminal obstruction of breathing, to be reimbursed for shelter costs and crime scene cleanup (A.10275).

The Assembly legislation would also provide greater protections and resources for victims of domestic abuse in the workplace by prohibiting employers from discriminating against employees who have experienced abuse (A.1481-A). It also requires employers to provide employees with reasonable accommodations to address issues related to their abuse, including time off for counseling and court appearances.

To help more domestic violence victims and survivors seek justice against their abusers, the legislative package also includes measures to simplify language in court documents to ensure victims understand their legal rights (A.5921), allow victims to receive damages for economic and non-economic losses from all defendants found liable in civil court (A.1390) and increase the statute of limitations in actions for injuries occurring as a result of domestic violence in civil court proceedings from one to two years (A.1516). Further legislation allows judges expanded discretion when sentencing defendants who have been victims of domestic abuse where their abuse played a significant role in the offense (A.3110).

“No one should be victimized or hurt by someone they trust and love, but the sad reality is that it happens every day,” Stern said. “Survivors deserve support that matches their strength. I came to the Assembly to fight for families, and this legislation is a meaningful victory in that fight.”

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1. ncadv.org/statistics