In the near future, I intend to introduce a four-bill package to strengthen protections for victims of domestic violence, enhance offender accountability, and better prevent repeat and escalating violence. 
 
The third bill is designed to protect victims of domestic violence from long-term financial harm that directly results from the abuse.  Lastly, the fourth bill, known as the “Domestic Violence Home Security Grant Program,” is a safety initiative designed to help victims of domestic violence secure their homes and protect themselves from future harm. 
 
The need for stronger statutory tools could not be clearer.  According to the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV), more than 10 million individuals are abused every year in the United States.  In 2019, 119 victims died as a result of domestic violence incidents in Pennsylvania alone – 54% of whom were murdered by a current or former intimate partner.  Alarmingly, the PCADV notes that approximately 37.1% of Pennsylvania women and 30.4% of Pennsylvania men experience intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner sexual violence, or intimate partner stalking in their lifetimes. 
 
These bills are intended to confront this crisis directly by prioritizing victim safety, disrupting patters of coercion and control, and making clear that domestic violence carries real and last legal consequences.  By combining preventative monitoring tools with meaningful financial accountability and victim financial assistance, this legislative package seeks to close dangerous gaps in current law and send an unmistakable message that Pennsylvania’s legal system refuses to empower domestic abusers.