COVINGTON, Ky. — When a victim of domestic violence in Northern Kentucky has nowhere else to go, they often rely on emergency shelters like the Ion Center for Violence Prevention in Covington.
The shelter has used its resources to help thousands of survivors per year back onto their feet, but CEO Christy Burch said victims faced dangers, allowed by Kentucky law, as they built their lives outside of the shelter.
Before Governor Andy Beshear signed the Safe at Home Act Tuesday, abusers or stalkers were allowed to find their victims by searching publicly available government records.
"Even just as simple as getting a driver's license, when you Google those public records, their address pops up," Burch said.
The Safe at Home Act, SB 79, expands the number of public records containing addresses that can be altered with a surrogate address if a survivor applies for the program through the Secretary of State's office.
Before, the only addresses that could be hidden were voter rolls.
The new law also drops a requirement that a victim possess a protective order against someone and, instead, requires the applicant to file paperwork declaring they fear for their safety and aren't applying for a surrogate address for the purpose of hiding from prosecution or committing fraud.
"This has the capacity to keep somebody safe, and save lives," Burch said.
Meg Savage, chief legal officer with the Kentucky Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said the Safe at Home program was desperately needed in Kentucky as it consistently ranks in the highest in the nation for domestic violence rates.
Roughly 45.3% of women and 35.5% of men in Kentucky have experienced violence in a domestic relationship, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
"Those who are trying to maintain that confidentiality of their location, those are often the cases because they fear, rightfully, that that perpetrator may show up and cause harm," Savage said.
Burch said the new program could also help victims keep their own homes or apartments and avoid landing in her shelter.
She said she would, however, keep the Ion Center doors open for the many victims still in need.
"In the last two years we have provided 25,000 nights of safe shelter and stayed consistently full," Burch said. "If we expanded, we could fill those beds. Violence is not OK, and everybody needs to do something to keep Kentuckians and our Tri-State safe."
Burch said The Ion Center continues to accept donations, volunteers, and more through the shelter's websiteto help operations.
Burch urged anyone seeking help to call their Northern Kentucky 24/7 hotline at (859)491-3335.
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