‘Safe at Home Act’ keeps addresses of domestic violence victims confidential
The bill heads to Gov. Scott Walker for final approval
Wisconsin lawmakers have given domestic violence victims a new tool for escaping their abusers for good.
The “Safe at Home Act” passed the state assembly and senate with bipartisan support. It creates a program that makes addresses of domestic violence victims who apply for the program confidential.
“When people think about domestic violence they always think about the physical piece of it, but really the root of domestic violence is about power and control over another person’s life,” says Karen Michaels, Executive Director of Golden House – a Green Bay domestic abuse shelter.
Michaels says many victims don’t reach out for help because they fear the abuser will track them down and harm them if they leave. Michaels says this bill would take that power away from the abuser and give it to the victim.
“It takes away their power, it takes away their control – that’s what we’re looking to do,” says Michaels.
Under the bill, a person who takes part in the program will give the Wis. Dept. of Justice their real address. The DOJ will then assign the victim with what some advocates say essentially equates to PO Box. Any official court documents, letters from the government – including invoices or utility bills – as well as perhaps private mail will be mailed to the DOJ assigned address and not the actual address, preventing abusers from tracking the victim down to futher harass or intimidate them.
“It’s an important step to be able to take to allow for individuals to be able to move forward with their lives and remain free from what is otherwise a harassing, intimidating, or manipulative environment,” says State Rep. Andre Jacque,(R) De Pere, who co-sponsored the bill.
The DOJ would forward to the victim’s actual address all mail sent to their assigned address.
Tony Gibart is with End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin. He says it may be hard for people who aren’t victims of domestic abuse to understand the fear that comes with getting away from an abuser only to be tracked down.
“You can imagine moving several times to new addresses, even different states and each time this perpetrator shows us and continues to interject, typically himself, into the survivors life,” says Gibart.
The bill awaits Governor Scott Walker’s approval.