SPONSOR: Proudie
COMMITTEE ACTION: Voted "Do Pass" by the Standing Committee on Crime Prevention by a vote of 8 to 0. Vote "Do Pass" by the Standing Committee on Rules- Administrative Oversight by a vote of 12 to 0.
This bill adds definitions for "coercive control" and "disturbing the peace of the petitioner" to the Chapter on shelters and protective orders related to child and adult abuse.
PROPONENTS: Supporters say that this puts a couple of definitions in the statutes for protective orders. It clarifies what "coercive control" is, and it adds this to the reasons a petitioner can seek a protective order. Approximately 80% of domestic abuse calls are missed if violence is a requirement. Often, domestic abuse involves coercive control, which does not always involve violence. A lot of times, people do not even realize they are being abused because the abuse is coercive control without violence.
Testifying for the bill were Representative Proudie; Missouri Coalition Against Domestic And Sexual Violence; and Arnie Dienoff.
OPPONENTS: There was no opposition voiced to the committee.
Written testimony has been submitted for this bill. The full written testimony can be found under Testimony on the bill page on the House website.
Statutes affected: