Not only a Representative from Northern Kentucky, Stephanie Dietz is also a family law attorney.
And it was when a client came to her five years ago that she first learned about coercive control.
“It’s a pattern of behaviors. You’re taking away their personal freedoms and autonomy. Removal of their friends, convincing them to quit their jobs. Got in trouble if she saw her friends or family, why don’t you cut back on your hours. Why don’t you use my credit card,” said Dietz, the Republican Representative from Edgewood.
Receiving an emergency protective order wasn’t an option for her client, but in her case, they were able to prove that there shouldn’t be shared custody. However, Dietz knows many victims of domestic abuse don’t always have access to the same resources.
“People say they could just walk away. They can’t. They’re being controlled. They don’t have access to funds. They’re afraid they’re going to get in trouble. They may not have a car, or the car keys are being taken away. But what they may have is someone who could take them to the courthouse and they could get an EPO.”
Currently, in Kentucky, in order to receive a protective order, there must be the threat of physical violence or the act of it. Representative Dietz wants to add coercive control to that shortlist. She said doing so could save lives.
“We’ve really got to get used to looking at the pattern and understanding what leads up to the ultimate act of either the physical violence or the death of someone.”
Eight other states have added coercive control to their protective order statutes.
You can watch Dietz, along with Christy Burch, the CEO of The Iron Center for Violence Prevention, present during an Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary at the link here.
Credit: Grason Passmore – WKYT/Lexington
