4 days ago
CT lawmakers OK measure to shield domestic abuse victims fleeing for safety. Here's what it does.
Connecticut lawmakers unanimously passed legislation that expands confidentiality protections for the locations of transitional housing or shelters for victims of domestic violence or sexual assault.
HB 6883 unanimously passed the House and the Senate 35-0. The bill now heads to Gov. Ned Lamont's desk.
The bill prohibits public agencies from disclosing any information indicating the location of a shelter or transitional housing for victims of domestic violence or sexual assault.
Sen. Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox, D-Trumbull, Senate chair of the Government Oversight Committee, who led final passage of the bill, said having worked for a domestic violence legal organization, she has seen how difficult it was for women or any person that is involved in intimate partner violence to leave the relationship, especially when they don't have a place to go.
'These shelters and transitional housing, become incredibly vital to be kept confidential to make sure that individuals particularly their perpetrators don't have access to that information because there have been instances when people have gotten information about phone numbers and locations that has led to subsequent violence,' Gadkar-Wilcox said.
Gadkar-Wilcox added that it is integral to protect individuals who are vulnerable.
'Even now domestic violence is the leading cause of homelessness among women and children and that in particular highlights the need to make sure that these shelters and transitional housing locations are safe places for people when they are fleeing from a perpetrator because that process is difficult enough,' she said.
Current law specifies that the state Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) does not require a public agency to disclose any information indicating the location of a shelter or transitional housing for domestic violence victims, according to the bill's analysis.
The bill instead 'explicitly prohibits public agencies from disclosing any information indicating these locations, and includes those for sexual assault victims, regardless of FOIA,' the bill's analysis further states.
Further, the bill also 'explicitly allows, regardless of FOIA's requirements, portions of public agency meetings to be held in executive session if they would reveal the location of a shelter or transitional housing for domestic violence or sexual assault victims,' the bill's analysis further states.
Meghan Scanlon, CEO of the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said the legislation gives the option for those involved in public meetings to have the ability to go into executive session and not compromise any sensitive or confidential information.
'I think this bill is a very good option to have for public agencies to conduct their business but not sacrifice the confidentiality of the locations of where people are residing especially in this instant information era,' she said.
Scanlon told the Courant that the CCADV serves around 40,000 people, adding that the length of stay for victims of domestic violence in shelters is longer, as individuals are dealing with complex situations that involve the intersection of mental health and substance use and that more children are also in the shelter.
'Anything that we can do to keep people safe and keep perpetrators from finding those locations or anyone who would want to cause harm is a good thing,' she said.
Scanlon said so far this year there have been 10 homicides due to domestic violence with a state average of 14 a year.
'There are more violent cases,' she said, adding that those cases may not end in a fatality.
Beth Hamilton, executive director of the Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence, said in her written testimony in support of the bill that 'many victims face ongoing threats, harassment or retaliation from the people who harmed them, making it essential to keep their locations undisclosed.
'Confidentiality helps survivors rebuild their lives without fear, allowing them to seek medical care, counseling and legal assistance without the risk of being found by their abuser,' Hamilton wrote in her testimony.
Julia Bergman, spokesman for the governor's office, said in an email Tuesday that the governor is expected to sign HB 6883.
