Wome In Government Recent Events
Women In Governmen featured Domestic Violence Issues at the 17th Annual State Directors' Conference & Ninth Biennial First-Term Legislators Conference. The Conference featured Sin by Silence, a documentary on the Convicted Women Against Abuse, a support group for incarcerated victims of domestic violence. Brenda Clubine-Coolbaugh, former inmate and founder, spoke with Director Olivia Klaus. Their materials are available here.
Background
The statistics on domestic violence in the United States are staggering. One in four women will experience domestic abuse in her lifetime with an estimated 1.3 million women who are the victim of physical assault by an intimate partner each year. Sadly, these numbers are not the entire picture. It is estimated that only one quarter of physical assaults, one fifth of all rapes, and one half of all stalking perpetuated against females, by intimate partners, are reported to the police.
2009 Related Legislation
- Illinois House Bill 808 sponsored by WIG Board Member, Representative Patricia Bellock exempts the Domestic Violence Shelter and Service Fund from being held in the General Revenue Fund, which could be tapped to defray state operating costs. This would protect the money from being used for other reasons during the economic crisis.
- Illinois House Bill 2660 which better defines why a person should have a risk assessment evaluation when assessing their bail when they are charged with a violation of their protective order. The bill also addresses the GPS fee that is assessed to the offender – if that fee is going to place any burden on the victim, than the fee shall be waved.
- Maine House Bill 405 sponsored by WIG Board Member Representative Kim Rosen allows the courts to require a person convicted with domestic violence to wear an electronic monitoring device.
- North Carolina Senate Bill 227 co-sponsored by WIG Board Member Senator Katie Dorsett appropriates additional funds to the Domestic Violence Center Fund and an allocation for grant software.
Note: Women In Government provides sample legislation as an educational resource, and does not endorse any specific piece of legislation.
Materials
Additional Resources
