VOSS/GREENSTEIN BILL TO PROTECT ABILITY OF ABUSED
TO CALL FOR HELP CLEARS ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE

(TRENTON) - The Assembly Judiciary Committee today released legislation to ensure victims of domestic abuse are able to contact police, counselors, or family members for help.

The bill - sponsored by Assemblywomen Joan Voss and Linda Greenstein - would extend protections under the state's domestic violence laws to victims whose telephone lines or other means of communications are deliberately sabotaged to keep them from seeking refuge from their abusers.

"For some victims of domestic violence, it is not possible to simply walk away," said Voss (D-Bergen).  "The first step for victims of abuse to escape their situation is to reach out and ask for help. Our laws must protect victims whose hopes for a better life lie in being able to call or email people who can help them escape an abusive situation."

The measure (A-571) would add purposely or knowingly impairing a victim's means of communication to the current list of acts - including assault, criminal trespass, and stalking - that constitute domestic violence under state statute.

"We must clear every avenue for victims of domestic violence to seek help," said Greenstein (D-Middlesex/Mercer).  "Domestic violence is much more than physical violence, but also includes erecting invisible walls around victims that make it tougher to escape. Counselors and police may be only a phone call away, but that means nothing when an abuser essentially has locked their victim away from the outside world."

The bill was released 6-0.  It now goes to the Assembly Speaker, who decides if and when to post it for a floor vote.

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