"Today, Senator Patty Murray, (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), vice chair of the House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee, reintroduced the Security and Financial Empowerment (SAFE) Act, to help break down economic barriers for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
The SAFE Act builds on legislation like the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) with steps to ensure survivors who need services like medical attention and legal assistance can take leave from work, allow survivors who have to leave their jobs to receive unemployment insurance, protect survivors from being fired because they experienced violence or because they requested protections at work to stay safe, and invest in a national awareness campaign to encourage a culture of prevention and support.
'No survivor of domestic violence should feel forced to choose between their safety and their paycheck, their job, or their ability to support their family,' Senator Murray said. 'That’s why I’m fighting to tackle the economic barriers that can prevent survivors from taking the steps they need to seek justice and keep themselves and their families safe, and I hope members on both sides of the aisle will join me to make this happen.'”
