The authors of two bills to protect victims of domestic violence or rape are pushing legislative committees to approve the measures before it’s too late. This coming Thursday, April 7, is the Senate deadline for committees to act on bills from the opposite chamber, while the deadline for the House is Thursday, April 21.

The lawmakers, along with representatives of the YWCA, The Oklahoma Conference of Churches and Oklahoma’s Catholic Charities spoke in support of the bills at the State Capitol on Monday.

“Far too often, past laws have protected the rights of the criminals, causing crime victims to be even further traumatized. Both of the bills that Representative Hamilton and I have authored are victim’s protection bills—and that’s why the legislative committees need to pass them,” said Senator Debbe Leftwich, D-OKC.

Sen. Leftwich is the author of SB 935, the “Victims Economic Security and Safety Act,” which passed the Senate unanimously but is still awaiting a vote in the House Rules Committee. Rep. Hamilton is the House author of SB 935.

“This bill came from the Oklahoma Conference of Churches, an inter-denominational Christian organization representing more than half a million Oklahomans. SB 935 was also requested by Oklahoma’s Catholic Charities. This simply guarantees unpaid leave for victims of domestic or sexual violence,” Leftwich explained.

“It is more expensive for businesses to have to advertise, interview, hire and train new employees rather than to have a policy in place that will enable them to keep their experienced workers who’ve been the victims of a terrible crime,” Leftwich said. “This gives businesses the guidelines they need to protect those workers and themselves.” The measure would also cover pre-natal appointments for expecting mothers.

House Bill 1698 by Rep. Rebecca Hamilton, D-OKC, would prevent the public release of rape and assault victim’s private information. The measure has already won House approval and is still awaiting a vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Her Senate author is Sen. Frank Shurden, D-Henryetta.

Called the “Victims of Violent Crimes Privacy Act,” the measure would require court clerks and district attorneys to stop posting information about rape and domestic violence victims on the Internet.

“Right now, they’re posting every terrible detail about these rapes and personal information about the victims including Social Security numbers, names, addresses and phone numbers. Women are actually being harassed, humiliated and threatened because of people accessing this very sensitive information. We need to protect them from being victimized a second time,” Hamilton said.

The lawmakers urged Oklahomans to contact their Senators and Legislators and urge support of both bills. To ask for passage of SB 935 which gives economic protection for victims of domestic or sexual violence, call the House of Representatives at 405-521-2711 or 1-800-522-8502. To support HB 1698 shielding rape victim’s information, the Senate’s number is 405-524-0126.

For more information contact:
Senate Communications Office- (405) 521-5774