Public Awareness
Bulletins - Winter 2010 OPDV Bulletin
Table of Contents
Legislative Update
The Governor’s Domestic Violence Program Bill (Chapter
476), sponsored by Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson and Assemblywoman
Helene Weinstein, was signed into law on September 16, 2009. One
provision of the new law, which contains protections for victims
of sexual assault committed by a family or household member,
will go into effect on December 15, 2009. This new provision
designates four low-level sexual assault crimes as family offenses:
sexual misconduct, forcible touching, sexual abuse in the third
degree and subsection one of sexual abuse in the second degree. Victims
of these crimes will now be able to petition Family Court for
orders of protection.
As with other forms of domestic violence, perpetrators may use
sexual assault as a means of demeaning, terrifying and controlling
their victims. Criminal prosecution is not precluded in these
circumstances because concurrent jurisdiction applies. However,
in some cases, the charges may be difficult to prove. The
law allows victims to allege these crimes in Family Court, providing
an alternative route to securing an order of protection. As
family offenses, these orders of protection will be registered
on the state-wide registry and perpetrators will be now subject
to mandatory arrest laws. Police agencies and Family Courts
will now be able to utilize these enforcement tools to enhance
both victim and public safety in these cases.
