Restraining orders: Now with more umph!

By Anne Baker

http://www.weeklydig.com/%5Bcatpath%5D/200909/restraining-orders-now-more-umph

Given the proliferation of unrequited creepos in the news lately, it’s fitting that lawmakers chose to revisit stalking legislation. Currently, stalking victims can only file criminal complaints against a family member, roommate, current/former spouse or someone with whom they’ve had a “substantial dating relationship” (who knows how lawmakers define that mouthful). Legislation introduced by Sen. Harriette Chandler, D-Worcester, would allow all sexual assault or harassment victims to file a restraining order.

Rep. Cory Atkins, D-Concord, championed the bill after an informational forum last week, claiming she’s worked to pass this legislation for the past decade, but always meets resistance from those who worry it could limit civil liberties and ease exploitation (e.g. feuding neighbors taking out orders on one another), or think current law offers enough protection. “It obviously doesn’t,” Atkins said. “We had to make a concerted effort to get law enforcement people behind it.” No oppositional testimony was submitted to the Judiciary Committee this session.This year, Boston law firm Mintz Levin helped write the bill, to make it more palatable to groups like the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Atkins said she was confident the bill had a “much better chance of being passed” thanks to their help. Susan Finegan, of Mintz Levin, said the firm’s worked on the “silent issue” of abuse since 2003. “A lot of people don’t go public with the fact that they’ve been sexually assaulted,” she said. The bill would make restraining orders criminally enforceable and easy to get without the pricey aid of lawyers or filing fees. Civil restraining orders don’t offer enough protection, Finegan said, and current fees can reach $400.

Chandler hoped the measures would level the playing field, since “restraining orders are not just for the rich and the patient.”

One former stalking victim who wished to remain anonymous testified at a State House hearing last Thursday. She was able to take out a permanent restraining order against her stalker because he was a former roommate. “I can’t imagine not having … that piece of paper to give me some credibility that I’m in trouble and I need help,” she said in an interview with the Dig. “If you’re raped by someone you don’t know, you can’t get a restraining order. I find that absolutely amazing.”

Colby Bruno, of the Victim Rights Law Center, said her organization sees over 400 sexual assault victims annually who don’t meet the qualifications to get criminally enforceable restraining orders.