Rep. Kennedy Oct. 3 Editorial: “Domestic Violence Awareness Month”

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, where we unite to educate and support residents affected by domestic and intimate partner violence. Almost a year ago, our local community came together to mourn the loss of a loving mother who sadly fell victim to domestic and intimate partner violence. Since her loss, I am proud to announce our achievements in more protections, resources, and support for all victims and families.

Earlier this session, I dedicated two of my monthly editorials to outlining key legislative proposals concerning domestic violence. Thanks to the work of a bipartisan coalition of legislators, the General Assembly proposed three critical bills, one of which was recently signed into law by the governor.

In Public Act 23-106, An Act Strengthening Protections and Response to Domestic Violence, House Republicans successfully incorporated language that expands an existing pilot program for family violence offenders to make it applicable statewide. More specifically, this program allows a judge to order GPS monitoring of an offender using a proximity alert, which sends alerts to law enforcement if an offender comes within a certain distance of the victim. Finally, this law also prohibits a perpetrator of a crime of family violence from receiving alimony from his or her victim, protecting victims both physically and financially.

Although the other two proposed bills failed to get to the governor’s desk, it is important to know what provisions we were also fighting for this session. Our Republican-proposed H.B. 6599, which was sadly never called in the Senate, directly dealt with educating residents on domestic and intimate partner violence reporting and support resources. One essential aspect of this bill would have implemented these resources through hospitals to pregnant and postpartum mothers.

The other proposed bill, H.B. 6887, was responsible for redefining fatal domestic and intimate partner violence as murder, serving to increase penalties and making it more difficult for offenders to seek parole. Thankfully, most of the provisions in this bill, including the GPS monitoring portion, were adopted in S.B. 5, as described above.

The Takeaway: We began the conversation on victims’ rights, especially those affected by domestic violence. As domestic violence-related calls to local police continue to rise each weekend, I am hopeful that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will continue this conversation next session, passing long-term solutions to ensure prevention, safety, and the well-being of all victims.

Domestic violence is a real threat in our state. If anyone feels like they are experiencing domestic or intimate partner violence, please call 888-774-2900, or 203-588-9100 for services in Spanish. Additionally, I encourage you to show your support this month by joining me on October 20th at 6:00 p.m. for “Beauty from Ashes”, hosted by Milford’s own Devine Beauty Salon & Spa.

As always, never hesitate to reach out to me with your questions, ideas, and concerns about this, or any state issue at Kathy.Kennedy@housegop.ct.gov or at 860-240-8700.