Domestic Violence Victim Protection Legislation Passes Committee

OKLAHOMA CITY – Legislation that increases protections for domestic violence victims passed the House Judiciary-Criminal Committee on Wednesday with a vote of 9 to 0.

House Bill 1658, authored by Rep. Denise Brewer, D-Tulsa,  gives responding officers more time to work with victims of domestic violence. Officers would provide a hard copy of local resource information.  They will also call the local domestic violence service and put the victim on the phone with them.

“We have to do a better job of connecting resources to victims of domestic violence,” Brewer said. “By creating a more proactive role for those responding to domestic violence, we can do that.”

A 2020 report from the Violence Policy Center showed that Oklahoma ranked third in women killed and 97 percent of those women knew their murderer.

“We don’t like to talk about it, but domestic violence is a major problem in Oklahoma,” Brewer said. “This is one step toward treating domestic violence more seriously and lowering the homicides that happen due to domestic violence.”

Brewer herself is a survivor of domestic violence.

“This legislation isn’t about me, but it is personal,” Brewer said. “We have to do more to protect our citizens.”

Constituents of House District 71 can reach Rep. Denise Brewer regarding this legislation or other issues by calling (405)557-7361 or emailing [email protected].