Missouri, stop putting abused women at risk. Offer lifetime orders of protection

Lisa Saylor carries a concealed weapon for protection. As a survivor of domestic abuse, Saylor’s safety plan also includes a large dog, a fenced-in yard and an alarm system to alert her to potential danger.

Saylor, 47, of Springfield, left her abusive husband in 2011 and filed for divorce the following year. She took with her the three children the couple shared. In the decade since then, Saylor has faced her ex or his attorney in court close to 70 times. In 19 of those instances, Saylor asked the court for a legal order of protection, a recurring nightmare that repeatedly forced her to be in the same room with her stalker.

“When we go back for an order of protection, our abuser knows the date, time and location of the court,” Saylor said. “There is a lot of fear and danger driving onto the parking lot.”

In Kansas, a protective order can extend at least two years, and in extreme cases, for the lifetime of the defendant if it is proven that the abuser wilfully violated a valid protection order.

But victims in Missouri are not afforded the same level of protection. Instead, they are often forced to experience the trauma associated with domestic violence again and again.

Under current law, orders of protection in Missouri can only be renewed for up to one year at a time. Legislation sponsored by Republican state Rep. Lane Roberts of Joplin and Republican state Sen. Holly Rehder of Sikeston would address a legal loophole exploited by abusers determined to harm their partners or children.

Under the proposed law, the evidence must show a serious mental or physical health threat to the victim or a minor child. Even convicted repeat offenders would have an opportunity to argue they have changed during an appeals process.

“A judge should be able to say one year fits, or two year fits, or a lifetime order is better,” Saylor said.

Roberts’ measure, House Bill 744, was unanimously approved by the Missouri House Judiciary Committee in March and was updated last week to include language that would protect pets entangled in custody disputes or domestic violence situations.

Both children and animals are often used as pawns in lengthy custody battles, said Jennifer Carter Dochler, public policy director for the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence.

Missouri must stop putting women in danger by forcing them to go back again and again to get protective orders renewed.