FRANKFORT, Ky. — Changes could be coming to a state program to help protect the privacy of survivors of domestic violence, and make it easier for them to seek that protection.
Monday, Kentucky Senator Julie Raque Adams (R-District 36) and Secretary of State Michael Adams said Senate Bill 79, the Safe at Home Act, would make the existing Address Confidentiality Program more impactful.
Raque Adams noted Kentucky has one of the highest rates of domestic violence in the nation. About 45% of women and 36% of men in the Commonwealth have experienced domestic violence.
“This is one of those pieces of legislation that’s almost a no-brainer,” Raque Adams said.
Right now, Adams’ office runs the state’s Address Confidentiality Program. It allows victims of domestic violence to hide their addresses from voter rolls, which are available to the public.
Advocates with the Kentucky Coalition Against Domestic Violence (KCADV) noted records are sometimes a source abusers use to find victims who are seeking safety.
But Adams believes the program as it stands is too limited. It serves fewer than 50 people statewide, and victims’ addresses may still be available.
“It applies only to a victim’s voting record so her new address will only be masked on the voting rolls but still visible on other public records,” Adams said.
SB 79 makes two key changes to the program.
First, it would allow applicants to participate without a protective order.
Right now, they have to have one in order to participate, which the KCADV said keeps participation low.
“For each survivor they have to choose their own course forward to keep themselves and their children safe. So, for some survivors going to the court for protection is just not an option for a variety of reasons,” the group’s Meg Savage said.
Second, it would allow an applicant to hide their address from publicly available government records beyond voter rolls.
“The wealth of personal information stored in public record databases can make it all the more difficult and sometimes impossible for a survivor to keep their location private,” Angela Yannelli, president of the KCADV, said.
Raque Adams said though the legislative session is short, she’s been assured by other Senate leaders the bill will have a chance to be heard, which could happen as early as Wednesday.
“This could change lives of women in our Commonwealth,” she said.
Adams said the program is paid for through a fund already allocated to his office, and through fines collected from people convicted of domestic violence charges.
Raque Adams also told WHAS11 she’s spoken with another state senator who plans to file legislation to protect survivors of domestic violence this week.
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