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House Bill 38

July 31, 2025By

Mary Ann’s Story Continues. Read the first part here.

After their phone call, Mary Ann and Representative Tipton began drafting legislation to hold abusers accountable. Their work would become known as HB 38 during this year’s Kentucky General Assembly.

She received another call from the congressman after the bill was filed. He asked Mary Ann to share her testimony with the House Standing Committee Judiciary.

Although nervous, Mary Ann remembers feeling supported from the moment she arrived at the Capitol Annex. She bravely shared her story and called for change.

“Today, I stand here with the hope that this bill will pass with essential provisions to escalate repeated domestic violence offenses to felony charges.”

The committee voted to pass the bill to the House of Representatives, which unanimously voted to approve.

This moved the bill to the Senate Standing Committee Judiciary. Mary Ann testified for a second time, inspiring the committee to move the bill to the full Senate.

She returned to Frankfort a few weeks later to witness the Senate’s vote and received a standing ovation from the crowd. Governor Beshear signed the legislation into law this March.

Per Kentucky Revised Statutes, the violation of an order of protection by a person convicted of two or more previous violations in five years is a Class D felony, if the third or subsequent violation uses or attempts to use physical force or threatens physical harm. The protected person can differ across violations.

Read the Summer 2025 Issue of Bloom

This is one article from our print newsletter. Follow the link above to read the full issue!

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UPDATE: Stop the Federal Funding Freeze

January 29, 2025By

UPDATE – A memo issued by the Office of Management and Budget on Wednesday January 29, made public at approximately 1:15 pm, has rescinded the previous memo. Additional decisions and information are expected in the coming weeks.

Your voice is needed for survivors. Please call on Congress to stop the federal funding pause.

On January 27, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget issued a memo directing all federal agencies to pause federal grant, loan, and financial assistance programs effective 5 p.m. ET on January 28.

Minutes before the freeze would have begun, a federal judge extended the effective date by six days. This pause would have detrimental impacts on public support services across the nation, including Kentucky’s domestic violence programs, the employees who keep them operating, and the survivors they serve.

Learn more about the memo’s potential impact from this Reuters article. Read the memo itself here.

As a member program of ZeroV, the coalition of Kentucky domestic violence programs, we are urging concerned Kentuckians to contact their Members of Congress today and insist they do everything in their power to prevent the federal funding pause. Below, you will find call scripts and email templates you can use when contacting your Members of Congress.

Call Congress NOW! The Capitol Switchboard can be reached at 202-224-3121. Prefer to send an email? Follow this link to find your Members of Congress

PHONE SCRIPT

I am calling to express my concern and dismay of the Office of Management and Budget memo M-25-13, “Temporary Pause of Agency Grant, Loan, and Other Financial Assistance Programs.”

As a constituent and concerned member of the community, I am concerned that this memo directly threatens survivors of crime. These survivors cannot wait for a pause while a federal agency analyzes the funding that enables service providers to provide them with the life-saving shelter and support they need. They need our help now, in the immediate wake of the most traumatic and difficult moments of their lives.

I urge the Representative/Senator to do everything in their power to stop this order from affecting this core, necessary funding that victim service providers rely on so they do not experience any interruption. If they are interrupted, the safety of victims and survivors will be gravely compromised, with immediate and real harm to the most vulnerable people in our communities.

EMAIL TEMPLATE

Dear Representative/Senator X,

I’m writing to express my concern and dismay for the Office of Management and Budget memo M-25-13, “Temporary Pause of Agency Grant, Loan, and Other Financial Assistance Programs.”

As a constituent and concerned member of the community, I am concerned that this memo directly threatens survivors of crime. These survivors cannot wait for a pause while a federal agency analyzes the funding that enables service providers to provide them with the life-saving shelter and support they need. They need our help now, in the immediate wake of the most traumatic and difficult moments of their lives.

As your constituent, I am asking, on behalf of survivors and their families, to do everything in your power to stop this order from affecting core, necessary funding such as this. It is essential that the federal grants on which victims’ service providers depend do not experience any interruption. If they are interrupted, the safety of victims and survivors will be gravely compromised, with immediate and real harm to the people who most desperately need our help.

With regard,
X

We thank the California Partnership To End Domestic Violence for drafting these rapid response communication tools. The featured photo is from pexels.com and used with permission.

This is a developing story.

Updates will be linked in this story as available.

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Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act

September 10, 2024By

Information, images, and links in this post were developed by National Network to End Domestic Violence and ZeroV, Kentucky’s coalition of domestic violence programs.

Your voice to support the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act is critically important! Victim safety and healing are on the line.

Funding for victim services is still in jeopardy, which could endanger victims if Congress doesn’t act now. The Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act offers solutions.

The Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) has suffered critical reductions for the past five years. Recent support from the KY General Assembly has been a tremendous help while we navigate the funding cuts. The Crime Victims Fund (CVF) Stabilization Act offers a permanent fix.

VOCA is the primary source of federal grant funding for victim services, including services for survivors of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, stalking, trafficking, attempted homicide, drunk/drug-impaired driving, and other crimes. Every year, Congress decides how much money to release from the CVF as part of the annual appropriations process.

Neither VOCA or the CVF Stabilization Act is tax-payer funded.

The CVF Stabilization Act temporarily deposits leftover receipts, after whistleblowers have been paid and the federal government has been made whole, from False Claims Act actions into the Crime Victims Fund.

Email or call your Members of Congress to urge them to cosponsor and pass the CVF Stabilization Act. ZeroV, Kentucky’s coalition of domestic violence programs, has made the process easy. Follow this link to take action!

Together, we can protect services for Kentucky survivors. And help domestic violence programs, rape crisis centers, child advocacy centers, and other victim service organizations keep their doors open.

Email Your Members of Congress

Follow the link above to send an email urging support for the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act.

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Safe at Home Act

July 6, 2023By

The Safe at Home Act to encourage confidentiality for survivors of intimate partner abuse in Kentucky became effective June 29, 2023. 

This new Kentucky law allows victims fleeing domestic abuse to shield their new addresses from public records, mask their addresses on publicly available government records, and register to vote without their address being public. 

No special court order will be required, and the program is administered at no fee to participants. 

You are eligible for the program if able to provide a sworn statement that you are a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or human trafficking and believe address confidentiality will improve your safety. 

Call our 24-hour hotline for help completing the Safe at Home application form: 800-544-2022  

Submission of a complete and notarized application is required. Upon approved participation for the program, you will receive a participant card and packet of additional information. 

Participants may use the Secretary of State’s address on most public records instead of their own. The Secretary of State’s office will forward mail received to the participant’s confidential address. 

Approved participation remains valid for four years and can be renewed upon expiration. Most other states provide similar programs, and victims may be eligible for similar address confidentiality if they relocate. 

Follow this link to Secretary of State's office with more information and resources.

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Technology & Intimate Partner Abuse

July 3, 2023By

Although intimate partner abuse takes many forms, power and control are at the root of the violence—and abusers are using technology more than ever before. 

Technology meant to improve general safety, like “find my phone” and family-locator functions, is being used to monitor survivors before, during, and after fleeing abuse.  Spyware and stalkerware are available from mobile app stores.  

Portable GPS tracking devices seem to get smaller every year and keep battery power for more than a year. Hidden in a car seat pocket or lining of a purse, these devices can be nearly impossible to find. 

Internet of Things  

The ever-growing Internet of Things, often abbreviated IoT, presents added safety concerns for survivors. IoT devices include things like these: 

  • Doorbell cameras 
  • Voice-activated help devices (Alexa, for example) 
  • Smart locks  
  • Smart thermostats 
  • Smart TVs 
  • Smartwatches 

This New York Times article shares stories of survivors who suffered increased abuse through technology during the pandemic. The stories include abusers controlling smart devices while not even in the home.  

Thermostats set to 100 degrees, the heat being turned off during bitter winter months, and music blaring through smart speakers for hours are common tactics. Hotline advocates also report increased use of smart locks to control when a victim could leave home. 

Even five years ago, staying offline could be helpful for survivors while trying to flee the abuser.  

“But the solution simply cannot be for survivors to disengage,” says Corbin Street, NNEDV Technology Safety Specialist. “Survivors have a right to use technology, to participate in life both online and off, and to live a life free of harassment, abuse, and stalking.”  

Recent Kentucky legislation could help. 

The unlawful use of tracking devices on motor vehicles will become a Class A misdemeanor effective June 30.  

A person could be found guilty if they’ve installed or arranged for installation of a tracking device in or on a motor vehicle or have tracked the location of a vehicle with a tracking device, without the knowledge and consent of the owner or lessee of the vehicle.  

Darlene Thomas, our executive director, recently spoke with WKYT News about the law’s specific inclusion of intimate partner abuse. The use of tracking devices by a restrained party under a protective order to track the location of a motor vehicle operated or occupied by an individual who is protected by the order is against the law. 

More Resources 

The NNEDV Tech Safety App is a collection of information and resources for survivors who suspect abuse through technology. Information is organized by device and type of abuse, including harassment, impersonation, and location tracking. 

Follow this link to the Tech Safety App website.

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Enhanced Protective Order Plan

January 24, 2023By

A new program has made it easier for survivors to file petitions for protective orders in Fayette County.

The Enhanced Protective Order Plan (EPOP) is a pilot project informed by the 2020 VAWA Statewide Needs Assessment which examines how Kentucky courts meet the needs of victims and examines barriers preventing survivors and their families from accessing support services. 

Through this program, five of our advocates were deputized to process Petitions for an Emergency Protective Order (EPO) and Interpersonal Protective Orders (IPO) for survivors who already reside at our shelter or receive our advocacy services in Fayette County. 

Fleeing an abuser can be the most dangerous time. This new effort provides survivors with access to the court from a safe location and eliminates transportation barriers that often can delay the process. The support of Certified Domestic Violence Advocates during the process can help ease complications and improve documentation during such a traumatic time. 

The Fayette Circuit Court Clerk’s office will continue to be available for all victims in Lexington-Fayette seeking assistance with domestic violence petitions. These services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Contact the Fayette Circuit Court Clerk at 859-246-2248 for office locations and more information. 

EPOP is coordinated through the Kentucky Courts in partnership with the Office of the Fayette Circuit Court Clerk and the Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention Council. 

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Remarks on Recent Supreme Court Decision

June 25, 2022By

To the greatest extent allowed by law, we will continue to advocate for the personal decisions survivors choose while escaping intimate partner abuse and establishing long-term safety from physical, emotional, and economic harm.

ZeroV, Kentucky’s statewide coalition of domestic violence programs, has issued this statement on the recent Supreme Court decision that ended the constitutional right to access abortion:

“Today’s Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization has immediate, serious, and lasting consequences on the lives of domestic violence victims in Kentucky. Exerting power and control over a partner’s personal agency and sense of safety is the aim of intimate partner violence and abuse, with reproductive coercion and the control of bodily autonomy among two of the most common tactics. ZeroV stands with survivors and their families as our coalition and our communities process and respond to the manifold implications of this ruling.”

 

Statement from the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) echoes concerns about safety and autonomy related to the decision:

“The decision marks the first time in history that the Supreme Court has taken away a fundamental right, and it is an unconscionable rollback of constitutional privacy rights for all people…Abortion services are essential healthcare and having equal access—for all people, everywhere—is vital to their social and economic participation, reproductive autonomy, and right to determine their own lives. For domestic violence survivors, abortion access is a matter of safety…” 

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The full statement from NNEDV is available from the link above.

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