More than half of domestic violence victims are left saddled with bills they didn’t willingly take on, while nearly 100% report being subjected to some form of financial abuse, such as being forced by a partner to run up credit card debt.
And as many as three in four female victims say their abusers tried to force them to get pregnant or otherwise control their reproductive choices, leaving survivors with higher rates of unwanted pregnancies, abortions and sexually transmitted infections.
A new package of bills from freshman State Sen. Dave Min, D-Irvine, aims to chip away at both of those prevalent problems.
Under Senate Bill 373, which Min introduced Jan. 11, domestic violence survivors who can show they’ve been coerced into taking on debt would be guaranteed financial protections. And Senate Bill 374, also authored by Min, would make California the first state in the country to recognize “reproductive coercion” as a form of domestic abuse.
“Most people think of domestic violence as a man hitting a woman,” Min said. “But there is so much more to it than that. When you talk to survivors … it’s the threat of violence and the coercion that’s just as debilitating as the actual violence.”
Min credits his wife, Jane Stoever, an attorney who heads up the UC Irvine School of Law’s Domestic Violence Clinic, with providing research and stories from survivors that helped drive home how financial and reproductive issues can prevent victims from leaving the cycle of violence. And he said he wanted to prioritize this legislation two months into his first term because reports of domestic violence are spiking during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under SB 373, domestic violence survivors would have a process to try to prove the debt they carry was incurred as a result of economic abuse. If a judge agrees, creditors and debt collectors wouldn’t be allowed to collect the debt and consumer credit reporting agencies would be banned from including it on victims’ credit reports.
Each year, the nonprofit California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, which is cosponsoring SB 373, reports an average of $15,936 of debt is incurred without a victim’s knowledge or consent, with some survivors forced to take out loans or charge up credit cards under threat of violence.
At least 42% of survivors saw their credit rating deteriorate as a result of these debts, per the nonprofit, leaving them “vulnerable to future abuse, poverty and housing instability or homelessness,” according to Krista Niemczyk, public policy director for the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence.
Financial struggles also are the most likely predictor of whether a survivor will be able to permanently leave their abuser. In a 2012 survey, some 85% of victims who returned to abusive partners said financial problems drove them back.
“This is a matter of life and death for survivors who need to get out of these relationships,” Min said.
While SB 373 wouldn’t have financial repercussions for the state, Min acknowledged it could ding financial firms carrying the debt. Creditors could try to collect the debt from the abuser, Min said, since there is solid case law around forcing someone to enter a contract under “duress.” Or financial firms could simply categorize such losses as “bad debt,” allowing them to write if off as they routinely do with defaulted loans or other debt they can’t collect.
A spokesperson for San Diego-based Encore Capitol Group, which is one of the largest debt collectors in the country, said they’re still reviewing details of the new bill but that they support SB 373’s intent.
Min’s second bill, SB 374, would add “reproductive coercion” to the categories of abuse covered by the Domestic Violence Prevention Act. That would ensure victims could use examples of their abuser tampering with their birth control to try to get them pregnant, trying to force them to terminate a pregnancy or otherwise interfering in their reproductive decisions as the basis for getting restraining orders or seeking other legal relief.
Min hopes the distinction can offer more protection for women, who too often are pleading their case to older male judges who he fears otherwise may not be taking reproductive issues into consideration when looking at possible abuse cases.
While SB 374 could lead to criminal charges for the abuser, Min’s bill stops short of calling to make “reproductive coercion” itself a crime.
That’s one way Min’s bill differs from Assembly Bill 453, recently introduced by Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens, which would make it a crime for someone to remove a condom without their partner’s consent. While Garcia’s bill focuses on expanding the definition of “sexual battery,” Min’s bill would change the definition of “domestic violence.”
Min said he hasn’t examined Garcia’s bill in enough detail to take a position on it yet. But, as someone who supports criminal justice reform, he’s generally cautious about creating new criminal code.
Both of Min’s bills build on work by Senator Susan Rubio, D-Baldwin Park, who in 2020 passed landmark legislation allowing domestic violence survivors to use descriptions of psychologically damaging and abusive behavior, such as isolating them from friends or depriving them of basic necessities, as evidence in family court hearings and criminal trials.
Rubio is a joint author on Min’s SB 374 and principal co-author on SB 373, while Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, is a co-author.
Min defeated GOP incumbent John Moorlach in November to win the 37th District seat, which includes much of central Orange County, from Laguna Beach northeast to Anaheim Hills.
He has introduced five other bills since he was sworn into office Dec. 7. One would ban gun sales on state property. Another would make nonpartisan county elections work more like state and federal elections, where the top two vote getters advance to the November general election instead of potentially winning outright during the primary. Others are aimed at streamlining state Controller payments, personal income tax law and homeowners associations’ ability to hold teleconference board meetings during emergencies.
Min’s firearms and elections bills have already been sent to different State Senate committees for review, while the other bills are still pending referral.
Source: Orange County Register
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