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 first bill would authorize courts to require domestic abusers to be subject to real-time location monitoring in Protection From Abuse (PFA) proceedings or as a condition of sentence for a domestic violence-related crime.  The second bill would prohibit courts from awarding domestic abusers alimony, spousal support, or a share of marital assets in divorce proceedings, thereby ensuring that abusers cannot financially benefit from their abuse or continue to exert control over their victims through our legal system. 
 
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.