PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Lawmakers from across Washington state met Tuesday morning to discuss ways to reduce domestic violence.
Representatives said sexual assault programs and children’s advocacy centers across the state have seen big increases in demand in recent years.
In late 2022, Clark County Sheriff’s deputies told KOIN 6 they were seeing a disturbing uptick in what they call intimate partner homicides.
House Bill 1715 would create a hotline specifically focused on preventing those types of homicides.
“House Bill 1715 challenges the premise that DV victims should be sent into hiding, fleeing for their lives, while our system does very little to hold their abusers accountable,” said Rep. Lauren Davis. “It rejects the status quo that hands victims a piece of paper with a promise of safety that the state cannot guarantee. In healthcare settings, the term ‘never event’ is used to describe situations that are so preventable they should never occur. Domestic violence homicide should be a ‘never event.’”
Some of the other bills Washington legislators are working on this session include HB 1177 would create a missing and murdered indigenous women cold case investigations unit. Senate Bill 5231 would help raise protections for victims in domestic violence no-contact orders.