By Johanna Hecht
KU Statehouse Wire Service
TOPEKA – As Crystalee Protheroe spoke in front of the Senate’s Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, her voice quivered and her hands squeezed the edges of the podium.
“On April 17 (2014) it was found that I was alienating my children from their father, and I had three hours to get them ready to go with their father, who still had an ongoing sexual abuse case pending,” Protheroe said. “This is unacceptable. Our children are our greatest resource. They are our future.”
Protheroe was one of two women who shared personal stories about surviving domestic abuse and fighting child custody battles when they testified in support of changes in Kansas’ domestic violence laws.
A second survivor, Jill Ainsworth, discussed her decade-long journey with the court system in Kansas.
“When I left (my husband) I had no idea about the challenges we were about to encounter in the courts of Kansas. I thought that my son would be protected,” Ainsworth said. “What actually happened was far from that.”
Protheroe and Ainsworth want legislators to support Senate Bill 393, which would allow the courts to consider domestic abuse as a factor when determining child custody, residency and visitation.
Kathy Ray, director of advocacy for the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence, also spoke in favor of the bill.
Ray said the Kansas Family Law Code on child custody, residency and visitation fails to consider relationships in which one parent is committing domestic abuse against the other, and possibly even the child.
Ainsworth said she compared Kansas family law codes with laws in other states, and found Kansas lacks protective measures for children.
“I approached Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook (R-Shawnee) last spring after researching family law codes across the country, specifically the family law codes in the four states surrounding Kansas. What I found and what I conveyed to the senator was that current Kansas Family Law Code is completely lacking in protections for children and it is far behind the majority of the states in this country,” Ainsworth said.
Ainsworth said all states bordering Kansas have laws that address domestic abuse as it relates to child custody, and they have multiple provisions in place to protect children.
The National Model Code on Domestic and Family Violence, put in place more than 20 years ago, includes the exact changes proposed in SB 393.
Many victims say they find it difficult to leave their abusive partner because there are no adequate guidelines in place that immediately remove the child from the abuser’s custody.
In other judiciary committee actions, lawmakers debated SB 378, which would strengthen anti-discrimination protection in the workplace for victims of domestic violence or sexual assault.
“The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence estimates that as many as 60 percent of victims of intimate partner violence lose their jobs for reasons related to the abuse,” Mary Akerstrom of the Capital City chapter of the National Organization for Women told the committee.
This is due to a lack of job security for many victims going through the court process. Victims may have to pay for law enforcement, medical services and therapy, and without an employer who can understand how time-consuming the legal process can be, victims risk losing their source of income. SB 378 would strengthen laws to prevent employers from retaliating or discriminating against victims.
Bradley Burke of the Kansas Department of Labor said in a statement that the current law requires the Secretary of Labor to enforce the anti-discrimination law, but the legislature has not provided the necessary tools to make sure that occurs.
In order to ensure that employers are held accountable, Burke explained that this bill would change the law to make sure it defines domestic abuse and sexual assault in ways consistent with definitions already existing under Kansas law.
Also, the bill would transfer enforcement of the law to the Kansas Human Rights Commission (KHRC), an agency with the tools to adequately ensure that employers do not discriminate against victims of domestic violence or sexual assault.
An issue with this change in authority is the potential cost. Based on the fiscal note from the Kansas Division of the Budget, there could be increased complaints from victims, which means an increased workload for KHRC staff.
Ruth Glover, executive director of the KHRC, noted the agency has decreased its number of filled positions this current fiscal year.
Sen. Jeff King, R-Independence, vice president of the Senate and chair of the judiciary committee, said the committee will be busy reviewing various legislative proposals and plans to take action on the domestic violence bills as soon as possible.
Edited by Leah Sitz