Bills to help to domestic violence victims, create a 911 app left on shelf

Legislation that aimed to provide more resources to domestic violence victims was permanently shelved this Regular Session after failing to progress through its assigned committees.

Boynton Beach Democratic Sen. Lori Berman sponsored the measure (SB 240). The legislation would have established an app that allows a victim to reach law enforcement without alerting the perpetrator.

The bill would have also called for a feasibility study into a web-based 911 system, giving each victim a unique telephone number that would have been used if they were in danger. The police would have used geolocation information to immediately bring assistance.

During the bill’s passage through the Senate Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Committee, Berman said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement had already indicated that a 911 app would be feasible to implement.

“It promises quicker response in real time and the real benefit is you don’t have to call 911, so your perpetrator doesn’t realize exactly what’s going on at the time,” Berman told the committee.

The bill further included language that would have updated the definition of domestic violence and dating violence to mean the same thing, enabling victims of dating violence to have access to the same resources.

Amy Trask, a survivor of domestic violence and bill co-writer, detailed to the committee how the legislation was a vital step to addressing domestic and dating violence.

“It’s a call to action to ensure the victims live to become survivors, to ensure equal access to the resources and protections they need to rebuild their lives,” Trask told the committee. “One in 3 women and 1 in 4 men are victims of violence, 20% of homicide victims are attributed to this.”

Despite having unanimous support through its first two committee stops, the bill died in the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee after it was not added to the agenda.

Its identical House companion bill (HB 19) sponsored by Gainesville Democratic Rep. Yvonne Hinson and Deland Republican Rep. Webster Barnaby, also stalled during the committee process.