Clarksville, TN Online » Domestic Violence

New Tennessee laws are in effect

News Staff — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:00:34 +0000

Despite tight revenues, state finishes fiscal year on schedule, lawmakers save jobs, education programs. (See complete text below of newly published Public Chapters of the Tennessee Code Annotated.)

NASHVILLE – While several other states struggle to close out the fiscal year ending Wednesday, Tennessee has already published new laws passed during its recently completed legislative session.

“We didn’t have a $24 billion shortfall in revenue like the legislators in California are struggling with, but it was still a tight budget year in Tennessee,” Senator Lowe Finney of Jackson, incoming chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus, said.

Still, we were able to protect our better schools program – pre-K in particular – and we can move ahead with projects that will put Tennesseans back to work.

That’s good for our families, our hometown economies and our state revenue. As more jobs begin to open up – thanks to projects like the West Tennessee industrial megasite – we can build a stable tomorrow for Tennesseans.

Among the laws now in effect:

Increased energy efficiency is now required in state buildings and vehicles.
Sex offenders are prohibited from being within 1,000 feet of certain places where children are likely to gather.
Tennessee driver’s licenses now print birthdates larger to make them easier for retailers to read.
Vending machines installed on state property after July 1 must use energy efficient lighting, and the new lighting must be installed on any that are repaired.

Public Chapters with 7/1/09 Effective Date

Topic	Chapter No	Doc Number	Description
Abuse	337	SB1776	As enacted, revises definitions of “adult” and “imminent danger” in the adult protection statute. – Amends TCA Title 71, Chapter 6.
Alcoholic Beverages	208	SB1947	As enacted, specifies that retailers are prohibited from selling intoxicating liquors to persons who are “visibly intoxicated” or accompanying a “visibly intoxicated” person rather than somone who is “drunk” or accompanying a “drunk” person. – Amends TCA Section 57-3-406 and Section 57-5-301.
Attorneys at Law	7	HB0416	As enacted, clarifies that certain government employees are not prohibited from providing pro bono legal services. – Amends TCA Title 8; Title 16 and Title 23.
Autopsies	276	SB1517	As enacted, creates Class A misdemeanor offense for unauthorized dissemination of autopsy materials. – Amends TCA Title 38 and Title 39.
Beer	314	HB0347	As enacted, authorizes a city or county to seek a criminal history background check or fingerprint check on an applicant for a beer permit and to enter into an agreement with the TBI to conduct a search on such information. – Amends TCA Title 57, Chapter 5, Part 1.
Boards and Commissions	497	SB2149	As introduced, establishes the “Tennessee state museum commission.” – Amends TCA Title 4.
Child Abuse	86	SB0810	As enacted, clarifies that the meaning of near fatality, for purposes of allowing public disclosure of confidential department of children’s services information relating to such, is a child having a serious or critical medical condition resulting from child abuse or child sexual abuse as reported by a physician who has examined the child subsequent to such abuse. – Amends TCA Title 37, Chapter 5.
Child Abuse	88	SB0866	As enacted, describes serious bodily injury in children to include second or third degree burns, bone fractures, concussion, and permanent or protracted disfigurement. – Amends TCA Title 39.
Child Abuse	89	SB0867	As enacted, describes dangerous instrumentality as any item in its manner of use or intended use as applied to a child that is capable of producing serious bodily injury. – Amends TCA Title 39.
Child Abuse	335	SB1530	As enacted, specifies that juvenile courts, general sessions courts, and circuit and criminal courts have concurrent jurisdiction to hear criminal prosecutions of child abuse and neglect. – Amends TCA Title 16, Chapter 15; Title 37, Chapter 1; Title 39, Chapter 15 and Title 40, Chapter 1, Part 1. -
Child Custody and Support	442	HB0804	As introduced, permits parents called to active military service that requires them to be out of state for more than 90 days to petition the court to assign their visitation rights during their absence to another person approved by the court. – Amends TCA Title 36, Chapter 6, Part 3.
Children’s Services, Dept. of	87	SB0853	As enacted, requires the department to consistently apply policies, rules, and regulations across the state; adds an annual legislative review of department policies and attached protocol and procedures; and requires the department to submit new policies for legislative review. – Amends TCA Title 37, Chapter 5, Part 1.
Children’s Services, Dept. of	358	SB0809	As enacted, clarifies that the department and any state or local agency records that contain information that identifies the person who made a report of child abuse or neglect are confidential; specifies limited exceptions. – Amends TCA Title 10, Chapter 7, Part 5; Title 36, Chapter 1, Part 1 and Title 37.
Consumer Protection	469	SB0812	As introduced, enacts the “Uniform Debt Management Services Act.” – Amends TCA Title 47.
Contractors	483	SB1417	As introduced, establishes as an unfair act under the Consumer Protection Act the practice of a general contractor requiring a subcontractor, as a condition of being awarded a job, to waive the subcontractor’s lien rights. – Amends TCA Title 47, Chapter 18; Title 47, Chapter 25; Title 62, Chapter 6 and Title 66, Chapter 34.
Correctional Programs	452	SB0104	As introduced, mandates the department of correction to develop and implement a society plan for every incarcerated prisoner for reentry into society. – Amends TCA Title 41.
Courts	427	SB0683	As introduced, prohibits any person who has, or has had in the past two years, a sexual relationship with a party or a party’s attorney from recording or transcribing for submission to any court or administrative tribunal any hearing in an action involving such party or such party’s attorney. – Amends TCA Title 24, Chapter 9, Part 1.
Courts, Juvenile	411	HB0327	As introduced, requires the juvenile court to work in coordination with any other court having jurisdiction over the child or the child’s family when requiring any parent or legal guardian of a child within the jurisdiction of the court to participate in any counseling or treatment program the court may deem appropriate and in the best interest of the child. – Amends TCA Title 16; Title 17; Title 18; Title 34; Title 36; Title 37; Title 39 and Title 40.
Criminal Offenses	83	SB0437	As enacted, creates Class A misdemeanor offense of possession of device, tool, or other item with the intent to use it, or allow it to be used, to unlawfully render inoperative a security device used or designed to prevent or deter the theft of retail merchandise. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 14, Part 7.
Criminal Offenses	155	SB0294	As enacted, creates a Class A misdemeanor offense for a person to knowingly provide, transfer, or submit to any other person false identification for the purposes of obtaining or maintaining employment. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 14; Title 39, Chapter 17 and Title 50.
Criminal Offenses	241	SB0388	As enacted, provides that escaping from the lawful custody of a law enforcement officer constitutes the offense of escape the same as escaping from a penal institution. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 16, Part 6.
Criminal Offenses	274	SB1168	As enacted, creates offenses regarding improper wearing of military decorations or falsely representing that one has been awarded military decorations; offense is Class B misdemeanor, unless medal involved is a Congressional Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, Air Force Cross, Silver Star, or Purple Heart, in which case it is a Class A misdemeanor. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 14 and Title 58, Chapter 1.
Criminal Offenses	282	HB0218	As enacted, requires certain actions by buyers and dealers of scrap jewelry and metal and makes a violation of such requirements a Class A misdemeanor. – Amends TCA Title 38, Chapter 1, Part 2.
Criminal Offenses	307	SB1665	As enacted, redefines “serious bodily injury” to include a broken bone of a child who is eight years of age or younger. – Amends TCA Section 39-11-106. -
Criminal Offenses	325	HB0516	As enacted, creates offense of making false statement or concealment of material fact for purpose of obtaining accommodation in housing project of a housing authority or for paying less rent than required for such dwelling; offense is Class A misdemeanor punishable by fine only, with fine to be determined in accordance with value of the benefit, in accordance with theft provisions. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 11, Part 1 and Title 39, Chapter 14, Part 1.
Criminal Offenses	342	HB0253	As enacted, adds certain violations of rules of road to present violations resulting in accident that are penalized as Class A misdemeanors when involving death or as Class B misdemeanors when involving serious bodily injury. – Amends TCA Title 55, Chapter 8.
Criminal Offenses	347	SB0113	As enacted, revises the Class A misdemeanor harassment to add offense committed by a person who intentionally communicates with another person without legitimate purpose: with the malicious intent to frighten, intimidate or cause emotional distress or in a manner the defendant knows or reasonably should know would frighten, intimidate or cause emotional distress to a similarly situated person of reasonable sensibilities; and as the result of the communication, the person is frightened, intimidated or emotionally distressed. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 3.
Criminal Offenses	386	HB0590	As enacted, defines “proceeds” for money laundering offenses to include gross profits from commission of any unlawful activity including real or personal property. – Amends TCA Title 39.
Criminal Offenses	408	SB1976	As introduced, modifies certain statutory provisions pertaining to certain types of theft. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 14, Part 1.
Criminal Offenses	412	HB0351	As introduced, creates new Class E and D felony offenses of assault on law enforcement officer, and Class B felony offense of aggravated assault on law enforcement officer. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 13, Part 1.
Criminal Offenses	439	HB0588	As introduced, establishes what crimes may be a lesser included offense generally and states that second degree murder is a lesser included offense of certain first degree murder charges. – Amends TCA Title 40.
Criminal Offenses	440	HB0591	As introduced, deletes offense of interception of cellular or wireless telephone transmissions; redefines “electronic communication” and “wire communication” for certain wiretapping and electronic surveillance offenses. – Amends TCA Title 39 and Title 40.
Criminal Procedure	115	SB0284	As enacted, establishes the venue for a violation of community supervision for life of a sexual offender as the county where the offender was being supervised at time of violation and permits probation officer to be affiant for purposes of obtaining affidavit of complaint against person. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 13, Part 5.
Criminal Procedure	194	HB0070	As enacted, revises the prohibition against using deadly force in defense of property to specify that prohibition would not apply if a person is justified in using deadly force as otherwise provided by law for defense of oneself or defense of another person. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 11, Part 6.
Criminal Procedure	379	SB1638	As enacted, requires district attorney general to complete and file uniform judgment document within 30 days after sentencing; requires that the document be signed by all parties, but if not signed by the parties, the clerk must make a copy of the document available to the parties before entry by the court. – Amends TCA Title 40, Chapter 35. -
Criminal Procedure	387	HB0815	As enacted, expands the offense of aiming a laser pointer or other device at a law enforcement officer to include aiming at firefighters, emergency medical technicians, or other emergency service personnel. – Amends TCA Section 39-16-515.
Criminal Procedure	390	HB1210	As enacted, prohibits parent from being issued arrest warrant or criminal summons against teacher without written approval of district attorney if the conduct alleged involved the teacher and a child of such parent. – Amends TCA Title 40.
Criminal Procedure	432	HB0583	As introduced, adds property received that is used as instrumentality in or in furtherance of violation of any criminal offense to criminal proceeds subject to forfeiture. – Amends TCA Title 39.
Divorce, Annulment and Alimony	280	HB0066	As enacted, removes a provision that allows a court to dismiss a divorce or legal separation complaint because the complaint lacks required information; allows, as an alternative to the specified information being included in the complaint, that the information be provided by the parties and be contained in the court’s records prior to the entry of the final decree of divorce; revises provisions governing when information does not have to be included. – Amends TCA Title 36, Chapter 4, Part 1.
Domestic Violence	455	SB0314	As introduced, requires person subject to order of protection to surrender all firearms the person owns or possesses to the sheriff of county of residence and creates Class A misdemeanor of person subject to an order of protection possessing a firearm. – Amends TCA Title 36, Chapter 3, Part 6; Title 39, Chapter 13, Part 1 and Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13.
Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation	459	SB0451	As introduced, adds assisting clients with applying for state and federal benefits to the statutory functions of licensed alcohol and drug abuse counselors. – Amends TCA Title 33; Title 68, Chapter 11 and Title 68, Chapter 24.
Economic and Community Development	424	HB1847	As introduced, revises the Neighborhood Preservation Act. – Amends TCA Title 13, Chapter 6.
Education	38	SB0073	As enacted, removes restriction on commercial advertising on school buses that requires such advertising to be composed of black lettering on a white background; prohibits advertisement of individual food items that, pursuant to law, cannot be sold via vending machines to students in pre-K through grade 8. – Amends TCA Section 49-6-2109(e).
Education	127	SB0850	As enacted, places restrictions on universal mental health testing, or psychiatric or socioemotional screening of juveniles; requires certain consent by a juvenile’s parent, guardian, legal custodian, or caregiver before such testing can occur. – Amends TCA Title 9, Chapter 4 and Title 49, Chapter 2, Part 1.
Education	160	SB0680	As enacted, authorizes courts to notify the school of a child who is adjudicated delinquent based on an offense for which school notification is not mandatory under law. – Amends TCA Title 37, Chapter 1 and Title 49, Chapter 6.
Education	262	SB2312	As enacted, removes requirement of passage of the Tennessee comprehensive assessment program tests in order to receive a full diploma; provides for end-of-course assessments; revises lottery scholarship day provisions. – Amends TCA Title 49.
Education	283	HB0324	As enacted, restates provisions governing reporting of suspected child abuse by personnel of educational institutions and release of related records. – Amends TCA Title 10; Title 37 and Title 49.
Education	315	HB0374	As enacted, requires written referrals for student’s behavior to be returned to faculty or staff member issuing the referral; referral to be kept in a student discipline file and not part of student’s permanent record. – Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 6. -
Education, Higher	204	SB1073	As enacted, exempts from the American History course requirement for a baccalaureate degree persons who pursue baccalaureate degrees in areas of study exempted, either by regulation of the board of regents or by regulations or delegated authority of the board of trustees of the University of Tennessee, if they have successfully completed a course in American History in high school. – Amends TCA Section 49-7-110.
Education, Higher	352	SB0681	As enacted, renames or corrects the names of certain community colleges. – Amends TCA Title 49.
Election Laws	218	SB1420	As enacted, makes various revisions to the election laws including allowing a person to email a transfer of voter registration or email a request for an application to vote absentee. – Amends TCA Section 2-7-112(a)(3)(C)(i); Section 2-2-129(a)(1); Section 2-6-103(b)(1); Section 2-6-202(a)(3); Section 2-6-304(f); Section 2-7-133(i); Section 2-7-142; Section 2-8-108 and Section 2-8-113(c).
Evidence	332	SB0523	As enacted, creates privileged communication between critical incident stress management team members and persons participating in crisis intervention. – Amends TCA Title 24, Chapter 1, Part 2.
Evidence	413	HB0619	As introduced, admits into evidence a videotaped statement made by a child under the age of 13 years describing any act of sexual contact or physical abuse if child unavailable and statement reliable. – Amends TCA Title 24. -
Financial Responsibility Law	370	SB2150	As enacted, requires law enforcement officers to request proof of compliance with financial responsibility laws upon charging a person with any motor vehicle violation instead of only moving violations. – Amends TCA Section 55-12-139.
Firearms and Ammunition	102	HB0254	As enacted, deletes requirement that the purchaser of a firearm give a thumbprint as part of background check process and that the TBI furnish thumbprint cards and pads to firearm dealers; clarifies that dealer must request TBI to conduct background check by “means designated by the TBI” instead of “by telephone”. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13.
Firearms and Ammunition	195	HB0411	As enacted, enacts the “Coach Willard Ross Act of 2009,” which creates a Class A misdemeanor offense of attempting to buy firearm when prohibited by law from possessing firearm and attempting or selling firearm to person known to be prohibited by law from possessing firearm. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13.
Foster Care	270	SB0855	As enacted, establishes procedures for reviewing actions of department of children’s services when a foster parent believes that the department has failed to follow the foster parents bill of rights and such failure has harmed or could harm a child. – Amends TCA Section 37-2-415.
Game and Fish Laws	213	SB0235	As enacted, provides that the determination as to whether property, such as vehicles, seized for violations of certain game and fish laws is forfeited to state is determined by court hearing the violation rather than an administrative hearing officer. – Amends TCA Title 70, Chapter 6, Part 2.
Hospitals and Health Care Facilities	312	SB2234	As enacted, extends expiration date of the tax on the gross receipts of ICFMRs from July 15, 2009, to July 15, 2011. – Amends TCA Section 68-11-830.
Hospitals and Health Care Facilities	323	SB0443	As enacted, authorizes the board for licensing health care facilities to delegate to the department of health the authority to issue a new license to a successor owner of a health care facility when there has been a change of control if certain requirements met; increases the amount of major medical equipment, the acquisition of which requires a certificate of need from $1.5 million to $2 million. – Amends TCA Title 4 and Title 68. -
Hospitals and Health Care Facilities	384	HB0093	As enacted, requires criminal background checks to be conducted for nursing direct care employees “prior to employment” instead of “prior to employment or within seven days of employment”. – Amends TCA Section 68-11-256.
Hospitals and Health Care Facilities	405	SB0485	As introduced, increases maximum civil penalty for operating a facility without a valid certificate of need from $500 to $1,000 per day of continued operation. – Amends TCA Title 63 and Title 68.
Hospitals and Health Care Facilities	460	SB0453	As introduced, extends nursing home bed privilege tax for two years until June 30, 2011; revises provisions governing delinquent tax. – Amends TCA Title 68, Chapter 11, Part 2.
Hospitals and Health Care Facilities	461	SB0454	As introduced, extends prohibition on new nursing home bed certificates of need to June 30, 2011, except for 125 Medicare SNF beds. – Amends TCA Title 68, Chapter 11, Part 16.
Human Rights Commission	437	HB0129	As introduced, directs human rights commission to develop a Title VI compliance plan applicable to certain state governmental entities; sets out duties of human rights commission in regards to Title VI provisions. – Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3.
Insurance Companies, Agents, Brokers, Policies	178	HB0981	As enacted, revises provisions governing maximum liability under the Tennessee Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Act in regard to annuity benefits to increase liability amount from $100,000 to $250,000. – Amends TCA Title 56, Chapter 12.
Judges and Chancellors	172	HB0083	As enacted, adds retired general sessions judges to present officials, including general sessions judges and retired judges and chancellors of courts of record, who may administer oaths of office to elected or appointed public official. – Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 18, Part 1.
Law Enforcement	190	SB2161	As enacted, clarifies that the POST commission will issue a certificate to any campus police officer or public safety officer upon the officer’s completing a training program. – Amends TCA Title 38 and Title 49.
Law Enforcement	284	HB0417	As enacted, authorizes independent contractors who provide on-site security and law enforcement capability at certain government property that is an air force base and flight simulation test center to employ persons to act as private special deputies for such purposes. – Amends TCA Title 38, Chapter 8, Part 1.
Limitation of Actions	498	SB2164	As introduced, limits tort liability of agritourism professionals under certain circumstances. – Amends TCA Title 43 and Title 70, Chapter 7.
Litter Control	382	SB2184	As enacted, requires county mayors to administer certain funds for litter control programs. – Amends TCA Section 39-14-510.
Local Education Agency	153	SB0283	As enacted, requires, rather than encourages, school districts to include certain criteria in policies prohibiting harassment, intimidation, or bullying. – Amends TCA Section 49-6-1016.
Local Education Agency	291	SB0251	As enacted, enacts the “Archival Protection Act of 2009″ to urge preservation of historically significant personal property located in public schools that have been closed. – Amends TCA Title 49.
Mental Illness	95	SB1538	As enacted, establishes legislative intent concerning priority of services to behavioral health safety net; establishes 19 years of age as the minimum age at which a person qualifies as an adult for purposes of determining which persons qualify as seriously and persistently mentally ill adults for purposes of this bill. – Amends TCA Title 33, Chapter 6 and Title 71, Chapter 5, Part 1.
Mental Illness	419	HB1348	As introduced, authorizes court to order outpatient evaluation of criminal defendant pending a post-trial proceeding under certain circumstances. – Amends TCA Title 33, Chapter 7, Part 3.
Mental Illness	468	SB0772	As introduced, provides for prescreening agents, physicians, and psychologists to be considered state employees when assessing persons for admission and transportation to involuntary inpatient treatment; establishes a task force to study issues related to transportation of persons to such treatment. – Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 42, Part 1 and Title 33, Chapter 6, Part 9.
Mental Retardation	458	SB0416	As introduced, specifies that new ICF/MR beds must be filled by persons from the developmental centers or from the wait list; requires that the division of mental retardation services approve the persons to fill the new beds. – Amends TCA Title 33; Title 68, Chapter 11 and Section 71-5-105.
Mobile Homes and Manufactured Buildings	132	SB0883	As enacted, revises provisions concerning manufactured homes affixed to real property including cancellation of certificate of title. – Amends TCA Section 55-3-138.
Motor Vehicles	201	SB0393	As enacted, prohibits sending or reading text messages while operating a motor vehicle; provides certain exceptions. – Amends TCA Title 55.
Motor Vehicles	286	HB1187	As enacted, broadens prohibitions on window tinting to any motor vehicle operated on a public highway, rather than only to those registered in Tennessee; and creates exemption for motor vehicles registered in another state that comply with requirements of such state. – Amends TCA Title 55, Chapter 9, Part 1. -
Motor Vehicles	324	HB0355	As enacted, requires law enforcement officer to conduct test to determine blood alcohol of driver involved in accident resulting in injury or death if officer has probable cause to believe driver committed DUI, vehicular homicide, or aggravated vehicular homicide; provides that test results may be offered as evidence in court or administrative hearing relating to accident or offense, subject to rules of evidence. – Amends TCA Title 55, Chapter 10, Part 4.
Motor Vehicles	441	HB0669	As introduced, requires liability insurance be maintained on all motor vehicles operated in Tennessee; insurance companies shall notify division of financial responsibility when coverage is terminated; owner of motor vehicle has 60 days to obtain insurance coverage again. – Amends TCA Title 55 and Title 56. -
Motor Vehicles, Titling and Registration	265	HB0985	As enacted, specifies that an “antique motor vehicle” additionally includes a motor vehicle at least 25 years old with a non-modified engine and body that is used on the highways for the purpose of selling, testing the operation of, or obtaining repairs to or maintenance on the motor vehicle. – Amends TCA Title 55, Chapter 4.
Narcotics	67	SB0408	As enacted, makes concealing that one has received a controlled substance in an effort to obtain more of that substance a Class A misdemeanor and requires certain health care professionals to report suspicion of such to local law enforcement without civil liability. – Amends TCA Title 53, Chapter 11.
Nurses, Nursing	403	SB0009	As introduced, certifies medication technicians who can administer certain medications in nursing homes under the supervision of licensed nurses. – Amends TCA Title 63, Chapter 7, Part 1.
Parks, Natural Areas Preservation	207	SB1793	As enacted, requires the commissioner of the department of environment and conservation to offer discounted rates to veterans who are Tennessee residents for activities at Tennessee state parks during the off season. – Amends TCA Title 11, Chapter 3.
Pensions and Retirement Benefits	438	HB0352	As introduced, authorizes retired members of TCRS to work for a city or county government without their retirement benefits being suspended or lost; provides that retirement benefits are not increased by employment in a local government entity. – Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 36, Part 8. -
Pest Control	363	SB1548	As enacted, provides terms for the engagement of services for certain termite inspection and prevention plans without initial chemical treatment. – Amends TCA Title 62, Chapter 21, Part 1.
Physicians and Surgeons	416	HB0722	As introduced, removes the Class B misdemeanor offense of practicing naturopathy. – Amends TCA Section 63-6-205.
Probation and Parole	313	SB2271	As enacted, requires offenders under the jurisdiction of the board of probation and parole who transfer residence to another state pursuant to the interstate compact for the supervision of adult offenders to pay to the board an application fee for the transfer; requires board to set the amount of the fee by rule. – Amends TCA Title 40, Chapter 28, Part 2.
Professions and Occupations	279	SB2310	As enacted, makes various changes concerning pre-need funeral contracts, home inspectors, collection services, and real estate appraisers. – Amends TCA Sections 62-5-403, 62-5-409, 62-6-307, 62-20-102, 62-20-108, 62-39-102, and 62-39-105..
Professions and Occupations	421	HB1495	As introduced, revises various provisions involving the practice of polysomnography. – Amends TCA Title 63, Chapter 31, Part 1.
Public Contracts	251	SB1213	As enacted, requires the department of health to reimburse residential homes for the aged for each resident whose income does not exceed $800 per month and whose income is limited to SSI benefits. – Amends TCA Title 12, Chapter 4, Part 3.
Public Records	176	HB0604	As enacted, extends confidential status to certain identifying information compiled and maintained by the department of correction or board of probation and parole concerning a person who has requested that notification be provided regarding the status of criminal proceedings or of a sentenced felon. – Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3; Title 10, Chapter 7, Part 5; Title 40, Chapter 28; Title 40, Chapter 38 and Title 41, Chapter 21.
Railroads	372	SB2224	As enacted, requires any person commissioned as a railroad police officer to receive POST certification prior to such commission; requires the POST commission to issue a certificate of compliance to any person seeking to be commissioned as a railroad police officer, if the person meets the qualifications for employment as a police officer and satisfactorily completes the approved recruit training program. – Amends TCA Title 38, Chapter 8 and Title 65, Chapter 6.
Real Property	112	HB0380	As enacted, requires seller of real property to disclose if property is located in planned unit developments prior to entering a contract with buyer. – Amends TCA Title 66, Chapter 27 and Title 66, Chapter 5, Part 2.
Real Property	156	SB0429	As enacted, authorizes right of redemption within one year from the date of the order of confirmation of sale, rather than from date property was sold. – Amends TCA Title 67, Chapter 5.
Remedies and Special Proceedings	385	HB0527	As enacted, allows court to deny name change petition if court believes it is to defraud, not made in good faith, will cause injury, or compromises public safety. – Amends TCA Title 29, Chapter 8, Part 1.
School Transportation	436	HB0092	As introduced, allows school buses to be used up to 20 years of service, subject to annual safety inspections, by extending permissible, yearly waiver limit for their service life after initial 12 years of service from current three years to eight years. – Amends TCA Section 49-6-2109.
Sentencing	203	SB0946	As enacted, grants trial judge the option to resentence a defendant whose probation has been revoked to a sentence of community correction, if the probation violation was a technical violation, as well as ordering the original sentence reinstated and the incarceration of the defendant. – Amends TCA Title 40, Chapter 35.
Sexual Offenses	414	HB0620	As introduced, redefines “indecent exposure” to include knowingly engaging in the person’s own residence certain conduct in the presence of a child for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification. – Amends TCA Title 39 and Title 40. -
Solid Waste Disposal	73	SB2066	As enacted, amends the Landfill Methane Development Act to identify certain circumstances and purposes for which refined, landfill methane shall be deemed to be natural gas. – Amends TCA Title 65, Chapter 28, Part 2.
Taxes, Exemption and Credits	380	SB2090	As enacted, authorizes conveyance of certain property purchased at tax sale by Shelby County, or included municipality, to adjoining property owners upon actual or in-kind payments of property’s fair market value. – Amends TCA Section 67-5-2509(d).
Taxes, Litigation	488	SB1684	As introduced, adds $1 privilege tax on criminal cases to fund grants for a 24-hour a day victim information and notification system to be operated by the Tennessee sheriff’s association. – Amends TCA Title 40, Chapter 38 and Title 67, Chapter 4, Part 6.
Taxes, Real Property	478	SB1166	As introduced, specifies procedures for sale of property purchased at a delinquent tax sale for municipal taxes only. – Amends TCA Title 6, Chapter 55, Part 2 and Title 67, Chapter 5. -
Taxes, Severance	138	SB1086	As enacted, increases the tax on coal products severed from the ground in this state and increases the amount of tax revenue collected that is allocated to the county from which the coal products were severed; allows department of revenue to retain certain amounts in two fiscal years to recover expenses. – Amends TCA Section 67-7-104 and Section 67-7-110.
Teachers, Principals and School Personnel	353	SB0718	As enacted, extends provisions regarding dismissal of tenured teacher in Davidson County to also apply in Shelby County. – Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 5.
Telecommunications	275	SB1210	As enacted, creates a 2-1-1 advisory council. – Amends TCA Section 65-4-117(b).
TennCare	471	SB0851	As introduced, requires that home health care services be provided in the recipient’s home and for service delivery purposes follows the recipient into the community. – Amends TCA Title 71, Chapter 5.
Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement	340	HB1676	As enacted, imposes penalty for failure of a tobacco distributor or manufacturer to provide certain information to commissioner of revenue. – Amends TCA Section 67-4-2604.
Tobacco, Tobacco Products	343	HB0530	As enacted, requires that at least 15 days prior to removal of a tobacco product manufacturer or brand family from the tobacco product manufacturer directory, the commissioner of revenue must post notification of such removal in the directory and transmit notice to any person who provides an email address to the commissioner for the purposes of receiving notifications of directory updates via email. – Amends TCA Title 67, Chapter 4, Part 26. -
Tort Liability and Reform	425	HB2233	As introduced, adds the necessity of showing by clear and convincing evidence to the extraordinary good cause needed for a court to excuse noncompliance with certain requirements for medical malpractice filings. – Amends TCA Section 29-26-121.
Traffic Safety	397	HB1605	As enacted, revises requirements governing bicycle use at nighttime to require that a bicycle be equipped with a lamp on the front that emits a white light visible from a distance of at least 500 feet to the front and either a red reflector or a lamp emitting a red light that is visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear when directly in front of lawful upper beams of head lamps on a motor vehicle. – Amends TCA Title 55, Chapter 8. -
Transportation, Dept. of	197	HB1311	As enacted, removes department of finance and administration’s authority to transfer funds from the highway fund. – Amends TCA Section 4-3-1016 and Title 54, Chapter 2, Part 1.
Vending Machines	350	SB0395	As enacted, requires vending machines located on state property to either use energy efficient lights for advertising or have the lights used solely for advertising removed. – Amends TCA Title 12, Chapter 2, Part 1 and Title 53, Chapter 12, Part 1.
Veterans	219	SB1659	As enacted, authorizes veterans to request removal of their social security numbers from war records. – Amends TCA Title 4; Title 10 and Title 58.
Victims’ Rights	50	SB1208	As enacted, confers immunity from civil action upon victim of crime for testimony given at offender’s parole hearing unless testimony is intentionally and maliciously false and defamatory. – Amends TCA Title 40.
Wine, Wineries	348	SB0166	As enacted, creates direct shipper license to be issued through the alcoholic beverage commission that would allow an in-state or out-of-state entity to ship wine directly to consumers age 21 years or older in this state for personal use. – Amends TCA Title 57, Chapter 3.
Workers Compensation	364	SB1567	As enacted, provides that any employee who retains the right to reconsideration of an award of permanent partial disability benefits for a workers’ compensation injury that occurs on or after July 1, 2009, and whose pre-injury employer is sold or acquired after such award is made, may seek reconsideration from the successor employer if either the employee’s employment with the successor employer is involuntarily terminated through no fault of the employee or the employee’s rate of pay is reduced to a level below the rate of pay that the employee had at the time of the injury. – Amends TCA Title 50 and Title 56. -
Workers Compensation	373	SB2299	As enacted, authorizes the commissioner of commerce and insurance to establish by rule requirements for securities posted by self-insured employers; requires that the employer’s losses and adequacy of reserves be certified annually, instead of biennially. – Amends TCA Title 50, Chapter 6, Section 405, and Title 56, Chapter 4. -
Workers Compensation	486	SB1574	As introduced, decreases amount of civil penalty commissioner of commerce and insurance may assess to insurance companies for failure to submit modification factors or rates from $2,000 per incident to $1,000 per incident. – Amends TCA Title 50 and Title 56.

Free legal assistance for domestic violence victims

Christine Anne Piesyk — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:00:24 +0000

The Clarksville office of the Legal Aid Society announced they have partnered with the lawfirm of Runyan and Runyan, the Hilldale Kiwanis Club and the Tennessee Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division to offer a free legal clinic for domestic violence victims to be held from 10 am to noon, April 4 at the Sarah Mann Building, 217 Third St. in Clarksville.
“Domestic violence touches so many in our community and the effects can last for generations,” said Kevin Fowler, managing attorney for the Clarksville office of the Legal Aid Society. “The clinic will provide an opportunity to speak privately with an attorney for free.”

The clinic is part of a statewide initiative of the Tennessee Bar Association.

On April 4 private attorneys and legal offices will be holding free clinics in more than 50 sites across Tennessee. A list of clinic sites is available from the Tennessee Bar Association, at www.tba.org/4all/4-4grid.

“You do not have to meet income guidelines to get this free help,” said Fowler. “Our goal is to help victims begin the process of making themselves safe and secure from their abuser.”

For more information about the clinic and services available, call Bradley M. Carter at (931) 647-3377.

The Legal Aid Society gives free civil legal aid to people who have nowhere else to turn. Its Clarksville office serves people in Montgomery, Robertson, Dickson, Cheatham, Stewart, Houston and Humphreys counties.

No leads in triple homicide; family history of domestic violence

Christine Anne Piesyk — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 03:08:43 +0000

Clarksville Police, with assistance from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, are continuing to investigate the murders of a woman and two children whose bodies were found during a “welfare check” late Thursday night.

Responding to a call from an individual concerned with the family’s wellbeing, police, having no response to their knocking, entered the home at 901 Cal Court, where they found the bodies of Natalie Ann Vullo, 30, and her two children, Diamin Lynette Shanklin, 8, a third grade student at Minglewood Elementary School, and Paul Zacharius Vullo-Nelloms, 3. According to reports, there are no suspects at this time. Investigators are checking a back window of the home and some fingerprints were taken from the scene.

Minglewood Principal Jane Winter has contacted all of the parents of Diamin’s classmates and former classmates, and grief counselors will be made available to students and families on Monday. A memorial service will be planned for a later date.

A history of domestic violence…

According to police records, domestic violence was a part of this family’s life. Both Natalie Vullo and her ex-boyfriend, Paul Vernon Nelloms, both had arrest records for domestic assault against each other in multiple incidents, though all charges were dismissed. In early February, Vello was arrested for assaulting her boyfriend, Gerrord E. Robinson, a registered sex-offender.

Nelloms, who is currently incarcerated for assualt against another woman, is being granted a five-day furlough to handle funeral arrangements for the younger child, Paul Zaccharias. Reports also indicates that Vello had been pregnant with another child by Nelloms, but not information about that pregnancy or infant was available.

Anyone with any information about this case should contact lead investigator Detective Tim Finley at 931-648-0656, ext. 4008 or contact the TIPSLINE at 931-645-8477.

Clothesline Project bears witness to sexual, domestic violence

News Staff — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 13:00:24 +0000

Austin Peay State University will advocate those who have been affected by acts of sexual violence with the Clothesline Project. The event is open to the public and takes place at 8 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 16 at the Morgan University Center Plaza.

The Clothesline Project is an international event that bears witness to the effects of sexual violence in the community. The project gives its participants the opportunity to print T-shirts in honor of men and women who are survivors of sexual and domestic violence. These shirts will be displayed on a clothesline to raise awareness of the impact violence has on the community.

The Clothesline Project (CLP) originated on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in 1990, and was designed to address the issue of violence against women. Women affected by violence express their emotions by decorating a shirt. They then hang the shirt on a clothesline to be viewed by others as testimony to the problem of violence against women. Locally the Clothesline Project has also been displayed at the Clarksville-Montgomery County Library.

APSU has been hanging the Clothesline Project since 1997. Since its inception, the project has amassed more than 400 T-shirts. For more information, contact Dr. Jill Eichhorn, coordinator of APSU’s Women’s Studies Program, (931) 221-6314. The national project website is http://www.clotheslineproject.org/

Legal Aid Society: Cost-effective legal lifeline for Middle-Tennesseans

Turner McCullough Jr. — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:00:06 +0000

Legal Aid Society delivers $2 in benefits for every $1 it receives

In 2007, the Legal Aid Society helped more than 7,000 Middle Tennesseans find justice when they had nowhere else to turn. As a result, women were protected from abusive husbands, people still had roofs over their heads and the sick got the medical care they needed, among the many other benefits received by Middle Tennessee’s most vulnerable citizens. Like the miracle of the loaves and fishes, the Legal Aid Society was able to make a little go a long way in meeting these needs – basically delivering $2 in benefits for every $1 it received. The $5,761,160 it spent in 2007 generated $11,096,830 in benefits.

“Thanks to an incredibly committed staff and outstanding volunteer efforts by private attorneys in the communities we serve, we were able to make very efficient use of our funds in 2007 to serve the maximum number of people. It gives you a good feeling to look back on how the Middle Tennessee community really made a difference in 2007.”

– Gary Housepian, Legal Aid Society Executive Director

Good stewardship is just one aspect of the Legal Aid Society’s success in 2007. It was also immensely effective – 97 percent of the cases it closed last year had a positive outcome. This measure of effectiveness is among many others included in the organization’s recently released 2007 annual report.

A copy of the report is available at any of the Legal Aid Society’s eight offices throughout Middle Tennessee and on its website (www.las.org). The Clarksville Office serves Montgomery, Houston, Stewart, Robertson and Dickson Counties. It is located at 120 Franklin Street, 931-552-6656. In addition to summing up the monetary and non-monetary benefits received by the Legal Aid Society clients, the report chronicles several key cases the state’s largest non-profit law firm successfully undertook in 2007 – ranging from savings a couple’s home, to rescuing an elderly woman from financial exploitation, to helping a young mother conquer domestic violence.

In total, in 2007, the Legal Aid Society clients received more than $4,390,000 in direct financial benefits as a result of services provided by the organization, including

$838,543 in federal tax benefits for low-income taxpayers.
$929,000 in annual social security and associated medical benefits for people with disabilities.
$904,000 in child and spousal support and other financial awards for low-income victims of domestic violence and their children.
$475,000 in medical benefits.

Free legal advice and representation clients received from staff attorneys during 2007 had a market value of $5,777,800. Pro bono attorney volunteers provided an additional $929,030 in free legal help.

“This is a total of over $11 million in benefits to the people we serve. However, we measure our success not just in dollars, but also in the difference we make in the lives of low income Middle Tennesseans. We provide services for people who are incredibly vulnerable, such as victims of abuse, the sick and elderly and people with disabilities. Without our services, these people would have nowhere to turn.” –

– Gary Housepian, Legal Aid Society Executive Director

Included among the non-monetary benefits were:

441 victims of domestic violence and their children obtained protection from their batterers.
131 people gained access to needed healthcare services.
223 families were able to keep their homes or obtain affordable housing
239 people received help with life and healthcare planning.

APSU to host Ensler’s Vagina Monologues

Debbie Boen — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 00:06:31 +0000

The Vagina Monologues will be presented at APSU Clement Auditorium on Feb. 26-27 at 7 p.m. Admission is $5.00.

One in three women are raped, mutilated and/or assaulted, says Eve Ensler, creator of The Vagina Monologues. If that’s the case, why don’t we hear about it all the time, everyday, every hour? Because women have a tendency to think that it’s their fault.

Dr. Jill Eichhorn, Coordinator of APSU’s Women’s Studies Program, teaches The Vagina Monologues class, a class whose students participate in The Vagina Monologues production. This is the 7th year The Vagina Monologues has been presented at Austin Peay State University. Eichhorn hopes to help women claim control over their lives, their bodies and their voices. She wants women to release the shame that comes from sexual abuse, including the abuse that women and girls experience daily when they see women objectified on the media.

Dr. Eichhorn (left) with Eve Ensler at Vanderbilt University

Women think that the horrible feeling they have after being assaulted somehow belongs to them. Being invaded or touched inappropriately invalidates them incredibly. It makes them feel as if their own body is disgusting, that their body has betrayed them; they hate it for that. They think that they have become the nasty, fear-based, controlling, invasive feeling that they are left with. It makes them feel so low down that they cannot speak up.

After a violent episode, the abuser can become lovable and sweet. Eventually tension builds, escalates and explodes again. Immediately he asks forgiveness or blames her for the explosion. She may think she’s crazy to want to leave him, he’s such a good person. She might stay because of financial reasons and to protect the children.

Women seldom talk about their own sexuality; they don’t talk about what pleases them, and they also do not talk about sexual abuse. When rape, mutilation or assault happens, the victim feels stuck in an isolated world of terror.

On the subject of rape, 60% of men surveyed think that “she brought it on to herself.” Surprisingly 40% of women surveyed think that she brought it on herself. Men who have justified date raping often use these excuses: because of the way she dressed, because she asked a guy out on a date, because he spent a lot of money on her, etc.

MTV continually flashes us images of females as the ideal male fantasies. In those fantasies, women always want sex, they don’t mean it when they say no, their minds and feelings aren’t important – in fact, they don’t exist, they are lost without men, and they lust for man’s approval. This imagery is not balanced by imagery that shows more truthful aspects of women. An excellent movie about it is Dreamworlds III

Monologue’s author Eve Ensler says that as far as sexuality goes, men and women are both lost. Boys are brought up not to cry, taught not to have feelings or else they are sissy boys. They are practically tortured by their piers as adolescents for anything that is different about them and any feelings of inadequacy that they show. Ensler, who spoke to a full house at Vanderbilt University in Nashville on February 18, said that Martin Luther King Jr. is her mentor. He taught her to focus on the task. Many people told her not to use the word vagina in the title to the monologues. She said, “What should I call it, furniture?” She said that people still tell her that word is too strong to use. They still tell her to shut up.

She’s visited many countries and cities and been witness to many stories of abuse and rape. The worst, by far, is the Congo, she said. In the Congo there are whole towns of raped women. Their bodies have been mutilated by the rapists and I won’t share the details here.

Ensler says she will not stop saying the word. She has a purpose, a revolution. There has been a global strategy to undermine women, a strategy she calls femicide. Dealing with each crisis as it happens is not going to solve the problem. Ensler says we need to redress the bigger issue. Every single culture gives permission to violence.

Ensler wants all of us to stop pretending to be found, and be lost, together. Women cannot stop men from committing violence on women. Men can stop men. There needs to be a global strategy to figure out why love is harder to do than killing.

“The Clothesline Project”

An Art exhibit called The Clothes Line Project will be displayed around the auditorium.

This is the 7th year The Vagina Monologues are to be shown in the Clement Auditorium on campus. This year Ensler is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the release of the monologues. To date, the V-Day movement has raised over $50 million and educated millions about the issue of violence against women and the efforts to end it. As elsewhere, Clarksville benefits go to the Safe House, Legal Aid of Tennessee and Sexual Abuse Center.

The monologues tell vagina stories. They are funny and sad and sassy; they are stories collected and collaborated from real women. The play opens with the lines, “I bet you are worried. We were worried. We were worried about vaginas.” There’s no place in this play hiding in shame about the existence of the vagina. The monologues give women the notion that their sex organs don’t have to be and shouldn’t be a big secret.

From the movie, VDay, Until the Violence Stops: Being in shame about women’s sexuality and not talking about it has not gotten women anywhere; in fact:

One in three women is raped, mutilated, and/or beaten.
RAPE is often viewed as “her fault” even though…
No woman is asking to be raped.
The female body is a MYSTERY to women. Women don’t know pleasure and how to talk about it. When raped, they can’t talk about that either.
Women’s FEAR and GUILT take away from their power and spirit.
When women release their stories they become the world’s stories.
If women say they will not tolerate violence, it forces the violators to have to work on their own issues.
RESPECT goes to those who: EXPECT it, COMMAND it and REFUSE to live without it.

One of the many handouts given to the Vagina Monologue class by guest speakers from Legal Aid of Tennessee shows the Power Control Wheel, which illustrates the pattern of abusive and violent behaviors used by a batterer to establish and maintain control over his partner.

Coercion and threats: Making and/or carrying out threats to do something to hurt her. Threatening to leave her, commit suicide, or report her to welfare. Making her drop charges. Making her do illegal things.

Intimidation: Making her afraid by using looks, actions, and gestures. Smashing things. Destroying her property. Abusing pets. Displaying weapons.

Emotional abuse: Putting her down. Making her feel bad about herself. Calling her names. Making her think she’s crazy. Playing mind games. Humiliating her. Making her fell guilty, ashamed.

Male privilege: Treating her like a servant: making all the big decisions, acting like the “master of the castle,” being the one to define men’s and women’s roles.

Economic abuse: Preventing her from getting or keeping a job. Making her ask for money. Giving her an allowance. Taking her money. Not letting her know about or have access to family income.

Isolation: Controlling what she does, who she sees and talks to, what she reads, and where she goes. Limiting her outside involvement. Using jealousy to justify actions.

Using children: Making her feel guilty about the children. Using the children to relay messages. Using visitation to harass her. Threatening to take the children away.

Minimizing, denying, and blaming: Making light of the abuse and not taking her concerns about it seriously. Saying the abuse didn’t happen. Shifting responsibility for abusive behavior. Saying she caused it.

This handout from the Clothes Line project got a lot of discussion in class:

Dating Bill Of Rights (for men and women)

I have the right:

To ask for a date.
To refuse a date.
To suggest activities.
To refuse any activities, even if my date is excited about them.
To have my own feelings and be able to express them.
To say I think my friend’s information is wrong or her/his actions are unfair or inappropriate.
To tell someone not to interrupt me.
To have my limits and my values respected.
To tell my partner when I need affection.
To be heard.
To refuse to lend money.
To refuse affection.
To refuse sex with anyone just because they took me out on an expensive date.
To refuse sex anytime for any reason.
To have friends and space aside from my partner.

I have the responsibility:

To determine my limits and values.
To respect/not violate the limits of others.
To communicate clearly and honestly.
To ask for help when I need it.
To be considerate.
To check my actions/decisions to determine if they are good for me or bad for me.
To set high goals for myself in my dating relationships.

Women

Women, get yourself to these monologues.

Statistics show that you are only slightly behind men in thinking that women bring rape on to themselves. If you think this way, you are enabling a diseased violent crime to continue and you are hurting your fellow womankind.

Men

Men get yourselves and the women and daughters in your life to this. If you really want to protect them, realize that women need to “own” their bodies as a key to protecting them.

They need your support and encouragement in this.

Dr. Eichhorn says the monologues will help bring understanding to our community about what it means to be female.

Clement Auditorium can be found on this map. Click to make larger. Park on campus or at the University and College parking lot for free after 4:30 p.m.

Stop Violence Against Women

Bill Larson — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 21:34:09 +0000

One in three women worldwide will be beaten, raped, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime. Every two and a half minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted. Every 15 seconds a woman is physically assaulted by an intimate partner.

Throughout the world, women face violence every day. From the battlefield to the bedroom, women are at risk from violence in all areas of life. Violence against women is an abuse that is not confined to any political or economic system. It is prevalent in every society in the world. It cuts across boundaries of wealth, race and culture. It affects the young and the old. Wherever we live, women are suffering violence.

Violence against women persists because society allows it to. Virtually every culture in the world contains forms of violence against women that are often invisible because they are seen as normal or acceptable.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Discrimination against women

The underlying cause of violence against women lies in gender discrimination – the denial of women’s equality with men in all areas of life. Women are also targeted because of their race, class, culture, sexual identity or HIV status, or because they are from poor or marginalized communities.

In many countries, violence against women is written into the law. In Jamaica the law fails to protect women from marital rape, incest and sexual harassment. Discriminatory maternity and infant health services in Peru are letting hundreds of impoverished women and children die every year and denying many of them the right to an identity.

Violence against women happens because far too often governments turn a blind eye to it, do not punish those who commit crimes against women and fail to ensure effective access to justice for women. The single most important factor that allows violence against women to persist, whether in times of peace or in times of war, is rampant impunity. Those who attack and rape women, know that they can get away with it, even though rape and other forms of gender violence have long been prohibited under international law.

Sexual Violence

Two thirds of sexual crimes in Hungary are committed by people known to the victim, yet few of the perpetrators are tried for their crimes. Rape by police and security forces is endemic in Nigeria as is the abject failure of the Nigerian authorities to bring perpetrators to justice.

Sexual violence affects women in all societies in times of peace as well as times of conflict. Indigenous women in the USA are at least twice as likely to be raped or sexually assaulted as women in the USA in general..

The government’s ongoing failure to tackle violence against women in Papua New Guinea has resulted in this violence becoming so pervasive that it impedes national development and contributes to the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Violence in the home

Women remain at risk within their own home as well. 50% of women who die from homicides are killed by their current of former partners. Tens of thousands of women in Georgia are hit, beaten, raped and in some cases even killed by their husbands or partners. A very small percentage of women seek help and justice from violence. Many stay with their partners because they have nowhere else to go and lack financial independence.

Nearly 3,000 women were registered as victims of violence in the home in Belarus in 2005, although the actual number is believed to be much higher. As there are no shelters for victims of domestic violence in the whole of the country, these women have nowhere go.

A lack of adequate temporary housing in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – means that women have little opportunity to seek redress in a secure and safe environment.

States must protect women from domestic violence by ensuring that adequate laws are in place, that specialist training or health care is available, and by ensuring women who need it have access to shelters.

Conflict

During armed conflicts, violence against women is often used as a weapon of war, in order to dehumanize the women themselves, or to persecute the community to which they belong.

Acts of violence against women are often ordered, condoned or tolerated by those in the highest echelons of political or military power. They persist because those in power do not acknowledge the wrongs that have been done and rarely prosecute those who have committed them. Tens of thousands of women and girls have been subjected to sexual violence during the conflict in Darfur. No one has yet been tried or prosecuted for these crimes.

In the context of the current conflict in Cote d’Ivoire many women and girls are the victims of gang rape or are abducted and forced into sexual slavery by fighters. Rape is often accompanied by beatings and torture — often committed in public and in front of family members. To Amnesty’s knowledge, none of the perpetrators of these crimes has ever been brought to justice.

Despite governmental lack of interest and social apathy and silence in many countries – activists around the world continue to campaign against violence against women and to confront discrimination and impunity.

Human rights defenders

Much of what has been gained in women’s human rights so far has been thanks to the efforts of women themselves. They have organized themselves, broken taboos, spoken up – sometimes at great personal cost – and have led brave and inspiring campaigns against violence against women. They have achieved dramatic changes in laws, policies and practices.

Some of them are victims and survivors of violence themselves who despite risks and difficulties and together with human rights defenders, women activists, women’s organisations and the women’s movement take a stand and speak out against violence in order to make a difference for all women in the world.

Many human rights defenders face risks, but women encounter additional risks because of their gender and the issues they address. Women who defend the human rights of women, especially women from marginalized racial or ethnic groups, can find themselves under threat of violence. Because they often challenge cultural, religious or social norms about the role of women in their society, they are frequently subjected to harassment and repression, ranging from verbal abuse to sexual harassment, rape, and murder.

Often, when women pursue legal action and stand up for their rights, they are faced with hostile systems and environments. Frequently, women activists have had to face ridicule and prejudice when they have sought to take leadership in communities or societies that view the woman’s role as strictly one within the family. Women who have dared to challenge social and religious conventions have been subjected to public accusations aimed at discrediting their character. Women protesting against discriminatory laws and practices are often accused of being traitors to their faith or culture or enemies of the state.

In March this year, four women’s rights activists in Iran were sentenced to prison for their role in organizing the peaceful protest and demanding equal rights for women in Iran in June last year. The activists are organizers of the “One Million Signature Campaign” launched in August 2006 that demands an end to discriminatory laws against women. They were officially charged with “actions against the state” and threatening “national security” and all four of them were tried in absentia.

Violence against women may be universal but it is not “normal” or “inevitable”. As long as women are denied their human rights, anywhere in the world, there can be no justice. Recognition of women’s human rights is an essential requirement for every society. Individuals and communities have vital roles to play in overcoming discrimination of women, impunity and gaining justice.

States must prevent, investigate and punish those responsible and we must break the silence – Act now, Stop Violence against Women. For more information visit Amensty International, The Health and Human Services Womens Health web site, or the Lifetime End Violence Against Women web site.

* Information in this article came from from Amnesty International and LifetimeTV.