Imagine surviving a stabbing attack by your spouse. Imagine your attacker pleading guilty to attempted homicide and going to prison. And then imagine being told that to legally end your marriage, you still need his cooperation.
That is not a hypothetical, but Pennsylvania law.
Under state law, a legal process allows divorce proceedings to be split so dissolution of the marriage can be finalized separately from financial and property issues, which often take longer to resolve. But the default requirement is both parties consent.
In a domestic violence case, this hands an abusive spouse, even one sitting in prison , power. A judge can override the consent requirement, but it means more litigation, time, money and exposure for a victim.
To address this, I have authored a bill package in the Pennsylvania House. It includes GPS monitoring of offenders, financial protections during divorce, coerced debt relief and home security grants for victims. Each bill exists because the current law, despite good intentions, leaves survivors exposed. I will be adding another bill that would create an exception to consent requirement in cases where there is a protection from abuse order or a spouse has been charged with or convicted of a violent offense against the other party.
Domestic violence does not end when the physical danger stops. For many survivors, the legal and financial aftermath stretches on for years, and abusers know how to exploit every part of it. Our job as legislators is to close those doors one by one.
Rep. Jason Ortitay
Cecil
The writer is a Republican representing the 46th District in the state House of Representatives.