ACTION ALERT During this Month of Domestic Violence Awareness – Urge Your Representative and Senators to Co-Sponsor and Pass the SAFE for Survivors Act of 2024 (H.R. 9693/S. 5132) 

THE ISSUE: 

Gender-based violence (GBV) poses a serious threat to the welfare of those that experience it. About one in four women within the U.S. experience some type of physical violence from an intimate partner and one in four women have reported experiencing an attempted or completed rape during their life. An area in which they can experience detrimental effects is economic security. Individuals that experience some form of GBV often find that “abuse and threats” can affect them from their home to the workplace which can inhibit their “ability to recover, provide for their families, and remove themselves from dangerous situations.  

About “44% of full-time employed adults” have reported experiencing the effects of domestic violence within their workplace” according to the Domestic Violence Hotline. In terms of intimate partner violence, about “21%” of full-time working adults report experiencing this type of GBV and overall, domestic violence issues lead to about “8 million lost days of paid work each year” which is equal to “over 32,000 full-time jobs,” (Domestic Violence Hotline). These numbers represent a staggering number of women who are losing their sense of financial security due to the lasting impacts of GBV and a federal plan to support these survivors could provide immense benefits. The 2024 Security and Financial Empowerment (SAFE) for Survivors Act offers additional protections to survivors.  

WHY IT MATTERS: 

The 2024 SAFE for Survivors Act would provide the necessary federal support that could make life-changing differences in survivors’ lives. The act would allow survivors increased access to leave, enhanced workplace protections, access to unemployment benefits, and insurance protections. The specifics of each of these areas include allowing for 40 days of leave, including 10 days paid, without repercussions, prohibiting any type of discriminatory employment practices related to survivors of GBV, and access to unemployment benefits if survivors are “fired or forced to leave their job because of abuse.” While this bill only focuses on one specific aspect of survivor resources, the beneficial impact which these federal laws and policies could have on survivors is tremendous. 

 STATUS: 

The bill was reintroduced into both the House and the Senate in September, with s. 5132 sponsored by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and co-sponsors Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (D-VT), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). 

Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-MI-06) and Gwen Moore (D-WI-04) are the representatives that introduced the bill in the House (H.R.9693). Co-sponsors on the bill in the House of Representatives are Ann Kuster (D-NH-02), Delia C. Ramirez (D-IL-03), Mark Pocan (D-WI-02), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ-07) and Barbara Lee (D-CA-12).  Members of Congress are in their home districts until Nov. 12. Hopefully, this important legislation can be passed in this 118th Congress before the end of the session in late December. 

YOUR MESSAGE: 

Call your Representative and Senators to deliver this urgent message; You can contact them in their home District and State – just check their websites for phone numbers:  

  • Please sign on as co-sponsor and help to pass the Security and Financial Empowerment (SAFE) for Survivors Act (H.R.9693 and S.5132).  
  • The vital resources that this act would provide to survivors of GBV would be life-changing for survivors in full-time and part-time jobs.  
  • The new protections provided by this bill would ensure that survivors could take charge of their economic security and continue to provide for themselves and/or their loved ones.  

The Capitol switchboard number is 202-224-3121; a list of representatives appears here (U.S. Representatives) and a list of senators appears here (U.S. Senators). You can also go to the representatives’ and senators’ websites and enter a message, but it is better to obtain their in-state office phone numbers and call those numbers to deliver your message.   

Thanks for everything that you do for women.