From many people I've spoken to one of the most prominent yet typically unspoken issues that so many people in my life have faced is abuse in their life. I have been privileged not to experience the trauma so many of my friends have shared with me but, we need to address and protect these people that usually go without someone keeping them safe. It starts with advocating for their much-needed safety. However, we need to do more than just pay lip service to this issue. We need to enact these policies below now because they will keep so many more people safe.

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Here is what we need to do now:

• Create and fully fund a functional, accountable program to house, support, and provide mental health treatment to all individuals impacted by domestic violence, trauma, and partner/child abuse - the SAFER Act (Stop Abuse; Fund Emancipatory Resources)

• Pass legislation that allows victims of abuse to exit a lease without financial or credit repercussions.

• Mandate and fund testing the entire backlog of sexual assault kits possessed by every law enforcement agency in Oregon.

• Lower the legal threshold for intervention by the state on behalf of abused and neglected children. The current high burden of proof is more a result of inadequate resources than any scientific understanding of what abuse actually is. 

• Implement a state-wide abuser registry. Similar to the federal sex offender registry, this needs to be accessible and easy to access, update, and see who has committed abuse in their past.

• Create a non-emergency texting hotline so victims of verbal abuse can ask what options are available to them to feel safe and find out if they need someone over there to assist them in whatever legal way the victim wants.

• Most importantly we need to pressure the federal government to pass these policy proposals to make sure everyone is somewhere safe.