Posted: | December 7, 2022 10:36 AM |
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From: | Representative MaryLouise Isaacson |
To: | All House members |
Subject: | Domestic Violence Reporting |
In the last decade, over 1,600 people have died from domestic-violence related incidents in Pennsylvania, including men, women, and children of all ages, races, sexual orientations, and socioeconomic groups. In 2021 alone, 112 individuals lost their lives to domestic violence. While these numbers are shocking, they do not accurately account for all incidents, with many incidents going unreported or, when reported by hospitals as required by law, not shared with, or tracked by local or state agencies. My legislation aims to fix this issue by requiring hospitals to track statistics regarding suspected domestic violence cases. Hospitals would then need to report these findings to the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Reports would contain no personally identifying information and would create a new, useful resource for state and local entities looking to help domestic violence survivors. As elected officials, we must continue to work towards ensuring a safer Pennsylvania for all, especially those experiencing violence from someone they should be able to trust. Please join me in supporting this important, commonsense legislation. |
Introduced as HB370