State Domestic Violence Laws and How to Pass Them: A Manual for Lobbyists

摘要

The manual focuses on one response to the issue of domestic violence: the substance and process of State legislation. It is designed to serve as a how-to primer on domestic violence legislation and the lobbying process. The Manual analyzes and critiques the substance of domestic violence legislation enacted in various States and focuses on how the interpretation and implementation of that legislation has proved useful to the intended beneficiaries -- victims of domestic violence. It also concentrates on the legislative process by following a legislative objective from idea stage through drafting, political strategy, and lobbying procedures. Finally, the manual includes a chart of State-by-State action in the area of domestic violence as compiled by the Center for Women Policy Studies in 1979. The legislation surveyed generally falls into the following categories: legislation intended to create public awareness of the issue, legislation aiming to alter institutional response to the issue, legislation intended to fund services for domestic violence victims, and legislation intended to eliminate or prevent domestic violence. Three appendices contain State legislation on domestic violence, a protection order checkoff form, and sample institutional response and funding legislation for numerous States and the Federal Government.