What’s New on WomensLaw.org

We updated and reorganized our Wyoming Gun Laws section to make it more state specific and easier to use. We also added one related statute to our Wyoming Selected State Statutes section. All changes in English.

We updated our Maine Sheriff Departments section with corrected addresses, contact information, and websites. 

We translated into Spanish our recently reviewed Asylum section.

We added a new D.C. Child Support section with 5 questions about who can get child support, how to file for child support, and how a support amount is calculated. The new section is in English, Spanish is coming soon!

We added two questions about grandparent’s visitation in our U.S. Virgin Islands Custody section. 

We added 2 statutes related to child support to our Selected District of Columbia Statutes page.

We added three statutes related to custody to our Selected Ohio Statutes page.

We expanded the Wisconsin Child Support page to include 4 new questions. 

We added information to 4 questions in our Massachusetts Child Support section and reviewed and updated the whole page for clarity. Spanish translation coming soon!

Based on an Email Hotline inquiry, we revised Who is protected by this housing law? What protections does this law offer? in our Texas Housing Laws page to clarify the distinction between the steps one must take to terminate a lease when the abuser lives in the home versus when the abuser doesn’t live in the home. Changes made in Spanish and English.

We added 33 statutes related to custody and crimes to our Selected Missouri Statutes page. We also added 19 crimes to the Missouri Crimes page, with links to their statutory definitions.

We added a new Georgia Child Support section with questions about who can get child support, how long it lasts, and how a support amount is calculated. The new section is in English, Spanish is coming soon!

We updated and reorganized our Montana State Gun Laws section to make it more state law focused and easier to use. This included updates to 13 questions in English! Spanish coming soon!

We added 15 statutes related to custody to our Selected Idaho Statutes page.

Based on recent law changes we reviewed and re-wrote the Puerto Rico Gun Laws section. Spanish translation coming soon!

Based on recent changes to the law, we reviewed and re-wrote the information on our Puerto Rico Custody page. Spanish coming soon!

We updated and reorganized our Iowa State Gun Laws section to make it more state law focused and easier to use. This included updates to 14 questions in English! Spanish coming soon!

We added two local programs to our Maryland Local Programs page in English and Spanish- the Prince George’s County Family Justice Center and the Community Crisis Services. 

We added the local program New Star Family Justice Center to our California Local Programs page in English and Spanish.

We added 15 statutes about permanent restraining orders and related crimes to our Selected South Carolina Statutes page.

We added three statutes to our Selected South Carolina Statutes page related to permanent restraining orders. 

We updated the following questions in our South Carolina Orders of Protection section to reflect the 2017 South Carolina Supreme Court decision that said requiring cohabitating couples to be of the opposite sex was unconstitutional as applied:

• What is the legal definition of abuse in South Carolina?
• Am I eligible to get an order of protection?
• Can I get an order for protection against a same-sex partner?

In addition, we added information about having to serve the respondent at least five days before the hearing in Step 4: Service of process.

In our South Dakota Local Programs page, we added the following five programs: Beacon Center, Catholic Family Services – Aberdeen, Catholic Family Services – Brookings, Catholic Family Services – Pierre, and Catholic Family Services – Yankton. We also added the following three courthouses to our South Dakota Courthouse Locations page: Hand County - Third Judicial Circuit Court, Tripp County - Sixth Judicial Circuit Court, and Oglala Lakota County - Seventh Judicial Circuit Court. All additions were made in English and Spanish.

We reviewed and re-wrote the information on our Puerto Rico Crimes page in English and Spanish. Based on this, we also added the criminal statutes of assault and attenuated severe assault (in Spanish). 

Based on an Email Hotline inquiry, we added a statute regarding an unwed mother having custody of a child if there is no court order to our Selected Tennessee Statutes page.

We rewrote the Puerto Rico Suing an Abuser for Money page in both English and Spanish to better explain this process for victims of abuse.

With the help of ASISTA, we re-wrote the four questions on our Abuse in Immigrant Communities page to focus more on how abuse affects undocumented immigrants, in particular. Changes made in English; Spanish coming soon.

Thanks to help from ASISTA, we re-wrote five questions in our Refugee Status section in English. Spanish soon to come.

Thanks to help from ASISTA, we created the following new questions in our Asylum section in English with Spanish soon to come:

• What does “persecution” mean? How do I prove that the government was unable or unwilling to protect me from persecution?
• Is being a woman enough to prove I am part of a “particular social group?”
• If I plan on coming into the U.S. by crossing the border, how do I ask for asylum?
• What happens if they deny my asylum request?

We created a Virginia Substantial Risk Orders page in English with seven questions about removing a firearm from a respondent who is at risk of causing harm. Spanish translation coming soon.

We added a link to the petition for a domestic abuse protection order form as well as the instructions on how to fill out the petition to our Mississippi Download Court Forms page.

We added the following seven crimes to our Mississippi Crimes page:

• Libel
• Mayhem 
• Extortion
• Threatening letters
• Obscene electronic and telecommunications
• Voyeurism
• Photographing, taping, or filming person in violation of expectation of privacy

We also updated the website link and the phone number for the Mississippi Crime Victim Compensation Division.

On our Selected Virginia Statutes page, we added two crime-related statutes in English.

Based on a 2020 addition to the law, we added the fact that a victim can file for a protective order in a state military court to Step 1: Go to court and request the forms for a protective order in our Mississippi Protective Orders section.

We updated What is the legal definition of domestic abuse in Guam? in our Guam Orders of Protection section to clarify that in order to prove the crime of family violence, the victim’s fear of bodily injury must be “reasonable.” 

In addition to adding a link to information about Guam’s VINE system for victims of crime, we added the following 12 crimes to our Guam Crimes page:

• interfering with the reporting of family violence
• unlawful distribution of images
• obscene, anonymous, harassing and threatening communications by computer
• illegal use of a computer or telecommunications device to disseminate prohibited materials involving a minor-sexting
• criminal sexual conduct (1^st degree, 2^nd degree, 3^rd degree, 4^th degree)
• criminal intimidation
• aggravated assault
• assault
• strangulation.

Based on a change to Delaware law that took effect 11/23/20, we changed our Delaware Suing an Abuser for Money page to reflect the increased limit for damages in justice of the peace court from $15,000 to $25,000. We also added information about being able to sue for “replevin,” the return of property. In addition, based on additions to Delaware law that took effect 9/23/20, we added information to our Delaware Suing an Abuser for Money page about the right to sue someone who distributes or threatens to distribute intimate images of you. We included information on what has to be proven, the amount for which you can sue, and the statutes of limitations for filing a claim. We also added a “note” on our Delaware Crimes page next to the crime related to distribution of intimate images about the right to sue and directed users to the Delaware Suing an Abuser for Money page for more information. Lastly, on our Delaware Crimes page, we added links to the crimes of strangulation and aggravated strangulation.

We added a link to victim/witness advocates and a description of their services on our U.S. Virgin Islands Crimes page. We also updated the link for the Victims’ Compensation program.

In our Minnesota Places that Help section, we added the Minnesota Lawyer Referral and Information Service to our Lawyer Referral Services page, added Tubman to our Local Programs page, and added Legal Assistance of Dakota to our Legal Assistance page.

We updated three questions in our Michigan Restraining Orders section in English and Spanish because of a change in the law that allows a judge to rule on an ex parte Personal Protection Order petition within one business day rather than within 24 hours. You can see the updates in What is a domestic relationship PPO and what types are there?, What kinds of non-domestic stalking personal protection orders are there? How long do they last?, and What kinds of non-domestic sexual assault personal protection orders are there? How long do they last?

We translated into Spanish the newly added information about abusers using sexting to harass victims in our “What are some ways an abuser could use sexting?”

We translated into Spanish our recent update on the If the judge orders the abuser’s guns to be taken away in my order of protection, how will they be taken away? question in our New York State Gun Laws section.

Based on changes to the law, we added information about the 24-hour period to surrender firearms to If the abuser’s gun is taken away, what will happen to it? in our Virginia State Gun Laws section in English and Spanish.

On our Rhode Island Places that Help page, we added 2 new Statewide Programs and 2 new Local Programs in English and Spanish.

Because of a change in the law that no longer allows a judge to suspend driving privileges or professional licenses for unpaid child support, we updated the What if I have a support order and the other parent is not paying child support? question in our Oklahoma Child Support section. Changes were made in English and Spanish.

We translated into Spanish the Indiana State vs. Federal Law section. 

We added a new question to our Maryland Peace Orders page called “Can I file for a peace order against a minor?” in English. Spanish translation coming soon.

We translated into Spanish our newly created section called Snapshot of State Courts During Covid-19 in our Preparing for Court - By Yourself section! 

We added information about abusers using sexting to harass victims to our “What are some ways an abuser could use sexting?” question in English. Spanish translation coming soon.

We added four statutes related to Rhode Island Sexual Assault Protective Orders to our Selected Rhode Island Statutes page.

In our Virginia State Gun Laws section, we made the following changes in English and Spanish to I do not have a protective order against the abuser and s/he has not been convicted of a crime. Can s/he own a gun?: 

• removed “habitual drunkenness” as a ground for disqualification to carry a concealed firearm;
• added the following less typical types of protective orders as grounds for not being able to possess a firearm or get a concealed carry permit:
  • substantial risk order;
  • a protective order issued as part of a divorce; and
  • a protective order issued due to abuse/neglect of a child.

We also added the newly-created substantial risk order to the list of orders that disqualify someone from possessing a firearm in I have a protective order against the abuser. Can s/he keep a gun or buy a new gun? and I am a victim of domestic violence and the abuser has a gun. Is that legal? Additions made in English and Spanish.

Based on a 2020 addition to Virginia law, we added information to What happens if the abuser violates the order? about in which counties a violation can be prosecuted. Changes made in English and Spanish.

We translated into Spanish our Indiana Crimes page.

On our Vermont Places that Help page, we updated 44 resources as follows: 3 Statewide Programs, 15 Local Programs, 9 Legal Assistance, 3 Lawyer Referral Service, and 14 Courthouse Locations. All updates were made in English and, for the first time, all resources were translated into Spanish!

We added ten statutes on high-risk protection orders to our Selected Nevada Statutes page.

Based on a new law in South Dakota, we added a South Dakota Housing Laws section, in English, that discusses housing protections for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking in the state. 

On our Connecticut Crimes page, we updated the link for information on Victim Compensation in Spanish and English.

We added new information to our Minnesota Housing Laws page. It includes 7 questions about the law that allows victims of domestic abuse, criminal sexual conduct, and harassment to end a lease early without penalty.

On our Indiana Crimes page, we updated the link to the Victim Compensation Division. 

We added a statute related to drug testing in custody cases to our Selected Indiana Statutes page.

We translated into Spanish our Indiana Court Forms page.

On our U.S. Virgin Islands Places that Help page, we updated 5 resources as follows: 3 Local Programs, 1 Legal Assistance, and 1 Lawyer Referral Services. All updates were made in English and, for the first time, all resources were translated into Spanish!

We translated into Spanish the 4 new questions about nonconsensual image sharing in our Abuse Using Technology page.

We created a new section called Snapshot of State Courts During Covid-19 in our Preparing for Court - By Yourself section! This page was created in English; Spanish soon to come. 

We translated into Spanish the question called What factors will a judge consider when deciding if I can get alimony? in the New Jersey Divorce page.

We translated into Spanish a question in our Washington Custody section called How will a judge decide if I can relocate with my child?

We translated into Spanish the two new questions on our Texas Housing Laws page.

We translated into Spanish our newly created section At the Hearing, within the Preparing for Court - By Yourself page.