The Security and Financial Empowerment Act (SAFE) is proposed federal legislation that would ensure that survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking have the economic security they need to escape violent relationships. Legal Momentum helped draft the bill. It was introduced in the House as H.R.3185 on June 30, 2005, by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), and in the Senate as S.1796 on September 29, 2005, by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA).
SAFE would provide victims and their families or members of their household:
- up to 30 days unpaid leave
- eligibility for unemployment insurance
- reasonable accommodations for violence-related needs
- protection from employment and insurance discrimination
Those provisions would help victims stay in the workforce while keeping businesses productive. See the SAFE fact sheet for more information. And contact your representatives in the House and Senate to tell them you support SAFE.
SAFE was also introduced in the previous Congress; this legislation is also similar to a bill in earlier Congresses that was known as the Victims Economic Security and Safety Act (VESSA). On July 25, 2002, Legal Momentum President Kathy Rodgers testified to a Senate committee in support of VESSA. You can click here to download her testimony.
