ALBANY – The State Assembly Republican minority issued a report on Tuesday aimed at protecting victims of domestic abuse.
The lawmakers proposed a series of bills to address the issues facing victims of domestic violence and their families, law enforcement and the criminal justice system, victim advocates and service providers.
Assemblyman Karl Brabenec (R, Deerpark) said they address a wide spectrum of issues.
The recommendations including declaring domestic abuse a statewide public health crisis, creating a new law targeting domestic violence in the presence of a child, providing financial relief to domestic violence victims who are living in a shelter or elsewhere in order to escape their abuser, and allowing victims to receive an emergency panic button when they feel threatened by a partner as part of an order of protection, he said.
Brabenec said the CDC estimates that one in four women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime and the state Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence reported that in 2016 intimate partner homicides increased 22 percent compared to 2015.
