Help draft a law in Maryland to protect escaped victims of domestic violence from their abusers

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Problem: Currently, victims of domestic violence are required to initiate legal proceedings in the county in which they've established residency. In cases where the individual has fled from an abusive partner, this introduces an element of risk. Filing for such things as custody or divorce may give the abuser a very narrow area in which to search. This may be an acceptable risk for a resident of Montgomery (which has a population of over 1 million people), but is an extreme risk for residents of Kent county with only 19,000 residents.

Solution: We would like to propose legislation to allow victims of domestic violence to file initial court documents in a neighboring county. This would greatly increase the level of security for the individual (and their children) without infringing on the constitutional rights of the abusive spouse. In order to avoid an undue burden on the counties, many of who have finite resources, they would be required to establish and report the number of cases they're able to take in.

Although many examples of proposed legislation exist (for format and verbiage), we lack the ability to draft the proposal effectively. We need help to create the initial draft, after which we'll begin coordinating with external agencies and state legislators to build support.

About Operation: Safe Escape

Operation Safe Escape is an initiative of OSPA, a 501c3 nonprofit organization. And we have one simple goal: to make sure that every victim of domestic violence has the resources, information, and confidence that they need to leave their abusive partner.

We fight against domestic violence in two ways. First is by empowering the individuals impacted by domestic violence, helping them (and their children) turn from victims to survivors. We first help to develop secure communication channels with their support system and local shelters, and then build on that to provide security and safety guidance relevant to their current step in the process. This takes a team of up to 30 security professionals in different disciplines, as well as software and application developers and other specialists.

Next, we make sure that the survivor has a safe place to go. To do this, we work with shelters, safe houses, and advocacy groups in developing security solutions and training staff on counter-surveillance and other security concepts.