For Immediate Release
May 12, 2006
Please Contact: Michael Bloom, 617-722-1650

Legislators and Advocates Pushing for Stronger Laws to Prevent Domestic Violence

A coalition of victims’ advocate groups and leading public safety legislators on Friday launched a new campaign to strengthen laws that protect victims of domestic violence.   

At a State House press conference the group released the findings of report authored by the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security that calls for tools to better assess the dangerousness of abusers, a statewide notification system for victims if abusers are released from custody, GPS tracking of dangerous abusers, and increased data collection to track domestic violence trends. 

“These measures are an important first step in beginning to reevaluate the current state of domestic violence in Massachusetts.  Victims of domestic violence continue to be murdered; more than 10 children lost mothers in the past month.  Where is the outrage and where is the response?  Domestic homicides are preventable.” said Mary R. Lauby, Executive Director of Jane Doe Inc. 

Legislators said that in the coming months they plan to file a comprehensive, wide-ranging bill based on the report’s eight recommendations. They also plan to join with Jane Doe Inc., The Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence to push for an increase in funding for domestic violence services programs in the FY07 state budget. 

“All too often victims of domestic violence are forced to live in an environment of fear,” said Senator Barrios, Senate Chairman of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security, and lead author of the report.  “It’s time for the state to renew its supports for victims by strengthening domestic violence laws to prevent future tragedies.” 

Advocates have reported that the state’s laws, while among the strongest in the nation, still put too much burden on the victim who is often forced to move to shelters and live in constant fear of future attacks.  The goal of the eight recommendations detailed in the Committee report, advocates said, is to shift that burden off the shoulders of victims to the most dangerous of abusers. 

"This report contains thoughtful and innovative proposals that will help us identify high risk domestic violence cases, hold batterers accountable, and greatly improve victim safety," said Professor Diane Rosenfeld, Lecturer on Law at Harvard. 

The changes in state law come after months of research and a 2005 oversight hearing held by the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security to investigate what could be done to update the state’s domestic violence laws.  

“Because of the drastic cuts that have been made to public social service funding, community organizations are struggling to meet the demands of victims and our communities which include access to immediate, neighborhood services that offer relief from abuse, violence prevention education and support to the police in order that recidivism rates be reduced,” said Deborah Fallon, Founder of Portal To Hope, an award winning nonprofit organization that provides comprehensive services to victims of abuse in Everett, Malden and Medford, Massachusetts.