Years ago, as I was fleeing from an abusive stalker and searching for a way to be safe, I considered applying for Washington State’s Address Confidentiality Program. I didn’t register for it, though. It didn’t work for me because I didn’t trust that my new identity would remain secret. And now some women in Oregon have to worry about the same thing. Here’s what happened: This past summer, a judge in Oregon’s Multnomah County (Portland) weighed the rights of victims against the rights of individuals accused of a crime. And his ruling was devastating because it had the effect of ending the right of confidentiality for victims of domestic violence. As a result, Oregon brought to a screeching halt a special anti-domestic violence program. They had hoped to start this program up again last Wednesday, October 01 in time for Domestic Violence Awareness month. It will not happen. The debate on victim’s-rights-versus-the-rights-of-the-accused is not unique to Oregon. Some states afford victim’s advocates confidentiality privileges akin to that of attorney-client or doctor-patient privilege but not Oregon ... and many other states.
How are the confidentiality laws written in your state for advocates, organizations and victims?
Pamela
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment