New Provision Protects Abuse Victims

A new resolution spearheaded by Leg. William R. Spencer, M.D., D-Centerport, aims to prevents housing discrimination to victims of domestic abuse.

On Tuesday, the resolution garnered unanimous support by the Suffolk County Legislature. An amendment to the Suffolk County Human Rights Law, the resolution prompts the county to continue ensuring that the principles of dignity and equality are afforded to all residents.

According to Spencer, housing authorities and landlords have cited previous domestic violence, repeated police visits, and property damage caused by abusers as reason to deny victims access to housing, or even as cause for eviction.

Victims and survivors often face more subtle causes of discrimination because of lack of credit or poor credit, as well as lack of employment and rental history as a result of their abuse, according to Spencer.

The new provisions will help domestic abuse victims escape their situations by leveling the playing field, and providing an avenue where they can seek help if encountering discrimination.

“This is a solid piece of legislation that will begin to eliminate the hardships of housing discrimination for the victims of domestic violence,” said County Executive Steve Bellone.

“Without a doubt, passing this new provision of the Human Rights Law protects vulnerable victims of domestic violence and ensures they do not have to face additional obstacles during extremely difficult times,” Spencer said.

“It is not unusual for victims to be cut off from their support network of family and friends and to be economically dependent on their abuser,” he added. “They should not be subject to any additional hardship or discrimination when they seek housing for themselves or their families.”

“Securing safe housing is critical for the protection of victims of domestic violence,” said Susan Lagville, executive director of Housing Help, Inc. “Being denied housing is tantamount to a sentence of continued abuse. An abused spouse, often with children in tow, faces a mountain of hurdles to overcome. Safe housing should not be one of them.”

Colleen Merlo, executive director of the Suffolk County Coalition Against Domestic Violence spoke about a survivor of domestic abuse who experienced housing discrimination first-hand. After securing an order of protection against her abuser and deciding to break away from the violent relationship, she found a lovely home for herself and her children. When she disclosed this information to the landlord, he withdrew his offer to rent the home to the victim. This amendment would have protected this family.

With statistics showing that women are overwhelmingly the victims of domestic violence, this amendment also strengthens the county’s support for women’s equality:

• About 1.3 million women are victims of assault by their partner each year and 1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime.
• 85 percent of domestic violence abuse victims are women.
• Nationally, 11 percent of evictions involve victims of domestic violence who are evicted due to abuse.