NKY’s Sen. Wil Schroder, Rep. Melinda Gibbons Prunty, and Sen. Ralph Alvarado received the “Champions for Justice” Award for their legislative work on behalf of victims of domestic violence and sexual assault today at the 19th Ending Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Conference in Lexington.
Schroder (R-Wilder) was honored for his sponsorship of SB 224, allowing victims of sexual assault more time to bring civil actions against their perpetrators. The law extends the statute of limitations for cases of sexual assault and sexual abuse from one year to five years from the date of offense or criminal conviction and ten years if the victim was a juvenile.
Rep. Gibbons Prunty (R-Greenville) and Sen. Alvarado (R-Winchester) were honored for their support of two new laws that increase protections for survivors of domestic violence during the 2017 legislative session.
Wil Schroder
Rep. Melinda Gibbons Prunty, sponsored HB 309 which ensures that victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking who have a court-issued order of protection may not be evicted from their rental units solely because they are victims
The new law allows victims with long-term orders of protection to terminate their leases if they give their landlords 30 days’ written notice. The law allows protected tenants to change the locks at their own expense as long as they give their landlords notice and a copy of the key. The law also gives landlords some important protections, including allowing them to bar abusers from their property and formally evict abusers based on the issuance of orders of protection.
Sen. Alvarado sponsored SB 86, which was attached to HB 309 in the last hours of the legislative session, and replaces the 39-year old mandatory reporting law with a mandatory education and referral requirement for all survivors of intimate partner violence. The law requires a broadly defined group of professionals to provide a suspected victim of domestic or dating violence with educational materials about domestic violence, referral information for accessing the state’s 15 regional domestic violence programs and 13 rape crisis centers, and information about how to access protective orders.
The three new laws went into effect June 29.
The Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs, Inc. (KASAP) is the statewide coalition of the 13 rape crisis centers in the Commonwealth. The mission of KASAP is to speak with a unified voice against sexual victimization.
The Kentucky Coalition Against Domestic Violence is the coalition of Kentucky’s 15 domestic violence programs. KCADV’s mission is to mobilize and support member programs and allies to end intimate partner violence.
Way to go! Wil. With young people involved our future looks better