Bill would provide orders of protection for everyone

A newly introduced piece of legislation will expand the categories whereby victims of domestic violence will now be able to get civil orders of protection.
The announcement of the Domestic Violence Civil Protection Act came last week from Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.
“Today, we empower victims of domestic violence with the ability to take action against their abusers. The City of New York will not stand idly by when people are victimized by those they live with and trust,” Quinn said. “I thank Mayor Bloomberg for his support in combating domestic violence on every front possible, by now including domestic partners and others in the law’s protection. I also look forward to continuing to work with Albany to broaden those protections even further.”
Currently, in New York State the only domestic violence victims who can go to Family Court to get civil orders of protection are those “who are married, divorced, blood related, or parents of the same child.”
Under the Domestic Violence Civil Protection Act, victims able to obtain orders of protection would be expanded. It would also include “unmarried individuals who live or have lived with an abuser, pregnant women who live with the fathers of their unborn children, and LGBT individuals who are abused by their live-in intimate partner.”
“Domestic violence doesn’t only happen to legally married people, but for too long the law has not provided the same kind of protections to domestic violence victims in other types of committed relationships,” Bloomberg said. “Working with Speaker Quinn and the City Council, we are creating a new avenue for these victims of domestic violence who want protection but don’t want to have their abuser arrested.”
While providing protection, such civil orders can require the person to maintain a certain distance from the victim and also mandate education programs for batterers, among other measures. They do not immediately result in criminal proceedings. However, violations can result in prosecution.
“Domestic Violence is pervasive throughout our city and my home borough of Queens is no different. There are over 2,000 requests for civil orders of protection in Queens annually,” said Councilmember Leroy Comrie, who co-sponsored the legislation. “However, there are many victims who are not related to or married to their abuser and are left without legal grounds to seek civil orders of protection. This legislation seeks to provide such protection to those individuals, and it is my hope that my colleagues will swiftly pass this legislation.”