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January 2018
Due to changes in the law in Guam, we added information to the question What is the legal definition of family violence in Guam? to include the act of strangulation.
We added the crime of identity fraud to the Ohio Crimes page and State Statutes page.
We added the crimes of theft and related offenses and unauthorized use of personal identifying information to the North Dakota Crimes page and State Statutes page.
We added the crime of identity theft to the North Carolina Crimes page and State Statutes page in English. Spanish coming soon!
We added the crimes of false personation, criminal impersonation (1st degree, 2nd degree), and Aggravated identity theft to the New York Crimes page and State Statutes page in English. Spanish coming soon!
We added the crime of theft of identity; obtaining identity by electronic fraud to the New Mexico Crimes page and State Statutes page in English. Spanish coming soon!
We updated all 14 courthouse resources on our Connecticut Courthouse Locations page in English. Spanish coming soon!
We updated all two resources on our Washington Statewide Programs page in English. Spanish coming soon!
We translated into Spanish our recently revised, augmented, and re-organized New Jersey State Gun Laws page.
We translated into Spanish the Washington Vulnerable Adult Protection Orders page in the Restraining Orders section.
We translated into Spanish the California Workplace Violence Restraining Order page.
We updated the information on the Georgia Download Court Forms page in English and added a link to additional court forms. Spanish coming soon.
We added Statewide Legal Services as a resource to our Connecticut Legal Assistance page in English. Spanish coming soon!
We updated the Oklahoma Indian Legal Services legal assistance resource on our Oklahoma Places that Help page in English. Spanish coming soon!
We updated the Wisconsin Judicare, Inc. (Indian Law Office) legal assistance resource on our Wisconsin Places that Help page.
We updated Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians local programs resource on our Wisconsin Places that Help page.
We added a local program, San Juan County - Victim Advocate Program, to our Utah Places that Help page.
We added Spanish translations to all resources in statewide programs, lawyer referral services, and legal assistance on our Maryland Places that Help page.
We updated three local programs, The Osage Nation, Native Alliance Against Violence, and Chickasaw Nation Domestic Violence Services, on our Oklahoma Places that Help page in English. Spanish coming soon!
In response to an Email Hotline inquiry, we added six statutes to the Indiana Statutes page regarding registration and enforcement of a child custody order from another state.
We updated the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women on our New Mexico local programs Places that Help page in English. Spanish coming soon!
We updated 2 local programs, Ketchikan Indian Community and Chugachmiut, Inc., on our Alaska Places that Help page.
We updated 2 local programs, Maliseet Domestic and Sexual Advocacy Center and Passamaquoddy Peaceful Relations, on our Wyoming Places that Help page.
We updated our Wyoming Suing an Abuser page and added a related statute to our State Statutes page.
We added the crimes of impersonation and identity theft to the New Jersey Crimes page and State Statutes page.
We added the crimes of fraud and identity fraud to the New Hampshire Crimes page and State Statutes page.
We added the crimes of fraud and false personation to the Nevada Crimes page and State Statutes page.
Based on 2017 changes to the West Virginia law, we updated the question What type of emergency protective order can I get if I am in the middle of a divorce, annulment, or separate maintenance or custody case? in our Protective Orders page.
We added the crimes of criminal impersonation and identity theft to the Nebraska Crimes page and State Statutes page.
We added Spanish translations to all 42 Virginia local programs on our Lugares que Ayudan: Virginia (Places that Help) page.
We updated the information on our Colorado Lawyer Referral Services page in English and Spanish.
We updated the Montana Download Court Forms page and added links to forms related to parenting plans and divorce.
We added the question "Can the abuser have a gun?" to our Indiana Orders for Protection due to Domestic Violence page.
We updated the California Download Court Forms page in English and Spanish.
We translated the Puerto Rico Download Court Forms page into English and we updated the links on the Spanish Formularios Judiciales page.
We translated into Spanish the California state-specific Gun Violence Restraining Orders page.
We translated into Spanish the information in our Washington Extreme Risk Protection Order page. This information was edited and updated back in November 2017 with the help of attorneys at Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
Based on an addition to Ohio law that clarifies how service of a protection order relates to being prosecuted for violating the order, we added information to the question "What happens if the abuser violates the order?" in the Stalking or Sexually Oriented Offense Protection Order section and in the Domestic Violence Protection Order section.
Due to a change in Nebraska law that allows for protection orders to be extended, we changed the information in the question Can I extend my protection order? on our Nebraska Domestic Violence Protection Orders page.
We added The West Virginia Lawyer Referral Service to our West Virginia Lawyer Referral Services page.
We added the Atlanta Bar Association Lawyer Referral and Information Service as a resource to our Georgia Lawyer Referral Services page in English. Spanish coming soon!
We updated the information on the Iowa Lawyer Referral Services page.
We updated some information in our Can I have my out-of-state protection order changed, extended, or canceled in D.C.? question in the Enforcing your out-of-state order in D.C. section of our Restraining Orders page in English. Spanish translation coming soon.
We added a resource to our Arkansas Lawyer Referral Services page.
We added the crime of theft of identity to the Montana Crimes page and State Statutes page.
We added 2 resources, Pathways to Safety International and Vital Voices Global Partnership, to our National Organizations American Women Abroad page.
We created a new Indiana Firearms Seizure and Retention Law page in the State Gun Laws section and added 7 corresponding statutes to our State Statutes page.
We edited and updated our Safety When Using Email page in English and Spanish.
With the help of SAFE Project, we updated their information on our Wyoming Local Programs page.
We translated into Spanish the new version of our Domestic Violence page and Emotional Abuse - the English was updated in December 2017.
We translated Family Tree, Inc. in Colorado Legal Assistance and Local Programs pages.
We updated and added information in the Michigan Domestic Relationship Protection Orders page.
We translated into Spanish our Arkansas Domestic Violence Order of Protection page, which was re-written in English in October 2017.
December 2017
We added information to our What can I accomplish through civil court? question in English and Spanish in our Abuse Using Technology section.
We updated the links on our Chats and Message Boards page in English and Spanish.
We added the Rhode Island Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service to our Rhode Island Lawyer Referral Services page and we added four resources to our Rhode Island Legal Assistance page.
We added Volunteers of Legal Service to our New York City Legal Assistance page in English.
We added Family Tree, Inc. to Colorado Legal Assistance and Local Programs pages in English. Spanish coming soon!
We updated our Connecticut Statewide Programs, Lawyer Referral Services, and Legal Assistance pages in English - a total of 16 resources. Spanish coming soon!
We updated 20 resources on our Connecticut Local Programs page in English. Spanish coming soon!
We added the crime of "financial identify fraud or identity fraud" to our South Carolina Crimes page.
We added information to the What are my options for filing a complaint? question, and we added the question I am not ready to report the assault now but I may be ready in the future. What do I need to know? in English to our Sexual Assault/Rape section. Spanish translation coming soon.
We updated the Rhode Island Lawyer Referral Services page.
With the help of Hill Country Crisis Council, we updated their information in our Texas Local Program page.
We added a new page on Abuse Involving Cyber-Surveillance/Connected Devices in our Abuse Using Technology section in English. Spanish translation coming soon!
We added the crime of extortion to our California Crimes page and State Statutes page.
We added information to the question "If someone shares my sexual or personal images, is that a crime? What is the crime commonly called?" in our Abuse Involving Nude/Sexual Images (photos/videos) page in English and Spanish.
We added five firearms-related statutes in Spanish to our Puerto Rico Estatutos page. We also added a link to those statutes on our Puerto Rico State Gun Laws page in English and Spanish since we don't currently have plain-language information related to gun laws.
We added the crimes of nonconsensual disclosure of private intimate images and identity theft to our West Virginia Crimes page and State Statutes page.
We added the crime of use or dissemination of visual recording or photographic device without consent and with intent to self-gratify, harass, or embarrass to our South Dakota Crimes page and State Statutes page.
We added the crime of nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images to our Oklahoma Crimes page and State Statutes page.
We added the crime of nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images to the New Hampshire Crimes page and State Statutes page.
We added the crime of distributing a private image with intent to harass, threaten, coerce, or intimidate the person depicted to the Alabama Crimes page.
We reviewed and updated our Domestic Violence page and Emotional Abuse page in English. Spanish updates coming soon!
We translated our Maryland Local Programs pages into Spanish.
We updated 5 resources on our Massachusetts Statewide Programs page, 4 resources on our Massachusetts Lawyer Referral Services page, and 19 resources on our Massachusetts Legal Assistance page in English. Spanish coming soon!
We added information and links in English and Spanish about abuse of pets to our Emotional Abuse section, our Safety Tips for Stalking Victims section, and our Safety Tips for Domestic Violence Victims section.
November 2017
We updated 31 resources in our Massachusetts Local Programs page in English. Spanish coming soon!
We added the crime of identity theft to our Missouri Crimes page and State Statutes page.
We added the crimes of identity theft and online impersonation to our Mississippi Crimes page and State Statutes page.
We added the crime of identity theft to our Minnesota Crimes page and State Statutes page.
We updated 3 resources on our Missouri Local Programs page.
Based on an addition to North Carolina law, we added information about the standard for modifying a 50B protective order in the question Can I modify or extend my order? We also re-wrote the rest of the question to clarify/revise the information about extending an order. All changes were done in Spanish and English.
We added information in English and Spanish to our North Carolina Suing an Abuser page about the ability to sue someone civilly for committing the crime of disclosure of private images.
Based on a recent change to New Jersey law that requires law enforcement to accompany the respondent in a restraining order case to seize his/her firearms, we updated the question How can a restraining order help me? in English and Spanish.
We updated 47 resources on our Virginia Local Programs page in English. Spanish coming soon!
We added Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) as a resource to our Pet Safety page in English and Spanish.
We updated the information in English on our Arkansas Moving to Another State with an Order of Protection page and our Enforcing Your Out-Of-State Order page. Spanish coming soon.
We completely revised, augmented, and re-organized our New Jersey State Gun Laws page and added 5 related statutes to our Statutes page! The changes were made in English. Spanish coming soon!
We added the crime of unlawful possession of weapons to our New Jersey Crimes page in English and Spanish and to our Statutes page in English.
We added a new Recording page in our Abuse Using Technology section in English. Spanish translation coming soon!
With help from a local program in New Mexico, we updated 1 local program and 2 courthouse resources on our Places that Help: New Mexico page.
We translated into Spanish the recently-updated section on Sexual Assault/Rape under Forms of Abuse.
We added the crime of unauthorized use of personal identifying information to the Spanish side of our Michigan Crimes page.
Based on changes to Maryland law regarding the definition of child abuse, we updated What is the legal definition of domestic abuse in Maryland? on our Maryland Domestic Violence Protective Orders page. We also updated our Maryland Crimes page based on the elimination of two sexual offense crimes. All changes were made in Spanish and English.
We translated the Divorce information for Maryland.
We translated the Parental Kidnapping information for Maryland.
We updated 10 resources on our Maryland Legal Assistance page and 15 resources on our Maryland Lawyer Referral Services page in English. Spanish coming soon!
We updated 4 resources on our Maryland Statewide Programs page in English. Spanish coming soon!
We updated all 30 resources on our Kansas Local Programs page and 2 resources on our Statewide Programs page.
We updated Who can get a protective order? based on a change in Louisiana law that allows a current or former live-in intimate partner to file for a protective order. We also updated How can a protective order help me? and How can a sexual assault protective order help me? based on other changes to Louisiana law.
Based on an addition to Florida law, we added information in English and Spanish to How can an injunction for protection against domestic violence help me? about the judge not being able to award attorneys fees.
We updated all 13 resources on our Kansas Legal Assistance and Lawyer Referral Services pages.
We updated our Housing Laws section in Colorado based on a change to the law that now allows victims of stalking and unlawful sexual behavior to get the same housing protections as victims of domestic violence/abuse. We also added a new question called Is the information that I tell my landlord confidential? in English and Spanish.
We updated a local program on our Utah Advocates and Shelters page.
We translated the question "If the other parent's new partner is abusive or a registered sex offender, do I have the right to know?" in our Texas Custody page.
We added a state-specific Maine Divorce page and three corresponding statutes to our State Statutes page.
In every state, we added a question to our Restraining Orders page called "Can the abuser have a gun?" in English and Spanish.
On our Where to Find Help page we added 2 Ohio resources and updated 1 Colorado and 1 Tennessee resource.
With the help of attorneys at Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, we edited and updated our Washington Extreme Risk Protection Order page.
In D.C., we added information in English and Spanish about the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) to the question What will happen if the abuser tries to purchase a gun? We will soon make the same changes in every state!
We added the crime of unauthorized use of personally identifying information to our Michigan Crimes page and State Statutes page.
We added the crime of identity fraud and impersonation to our Massachusetts Crimes page in English and Spanish and to our State Statutes page in English.
We added a new Kentucky Housing Laws page on housing protections for victims of domestic violence, interpersonal violence, and certain crimes.
We updated the Eastern Shore Coalition Against Domestic Violence resource on our Virginia Where to Find Help page.
October 2017
After two years of planning and hard work, we launched the new version of WomensLaw.org on October 24, 2017! The website is now fully mobile too!
We translated into Spanish the Ways Courts Use Technology page.
We updated and added some information to our general Parental Kidnapping page in English and Spanish.
We added information to "If I am the victim of a crime, where can I get additional help?", on the Wisconsin Crimes page. "The Wisconsin Department of Justice also runs Safe at Home, Wisconsin's address confidentiality program for victims of abuse, stalking, trafficking, and those in fear for their physical safety."
We added information to the question What is virtual visitation? in our page about about Ways Courts Use Technology. It includes information on how virtual visitation could be requested as part of a relocation request. Both in English and Spanish.
We edited and updated our Arkansas Domestic Violence Order of Protection page in English.
We updated resources on our State Resources: Oregon page in English. (42 updated resources on our Oregon Local Programs page; 2 on our Statewide Programs page; 1 on our Lawyer Referral Services page; and 19 on our Legal Assistance page.)
We translated into Spanish our completely new section called Safety Planning with Children.
We added information about the abuser paying for the victim's costs in the question How can a protective order help me? in our Louisiana Protective Orders (for Domestic Abuse) section.
We added the crime of identity fraud to our Maryland Crimes page and State Statutes page.
We added the crime of misuse of identification to our Maine Crimes page and State Statutes page.
We added the crime of identity theft to the Louisiana Crimes page and State Statutes page.
We added the crime of identity theft to the Kentucky Crimes page and State Statutes page.
We added the crimes of identity theft and false impersonation to our Kansas Crimes page and State Statutes page.
We added the crime of identity theft to the Iowa Crimes page and State Statutes page.
We revised the information on our Mississippi Divorce page regarding irreconcilable differences.
We added new information in Spanish to the question What is the legal definition of "dating violence" in Texas? (English was previously added).
September 2017
We added the crime of "battery of a dating partner" and "aggravated assault upon a dating partner" to our Louisiana Crimes page. These crimes were added to Louisiana's laws in August 2017.
We added a new resource for crime victims to our Arkansas Crimes page in English and Spanish.
We added the crime of sexual extortion in English and Spanish to our Arkansas Crimes page and in English to our Statutes page. The crime was added to Arkansas law in August 2017.
We updated resources on our Michigan Where to Find Help page in English. Spanish soon to come! (1 Statewide; 36 Legal Assistance; 6 Lawyer Referral Services)
Based on changes to Minnesota laws, we updated our Harassment Restraining Orders page, revising the information we had and adding a new question called How can a harassment restraining order be served? We also added a corresponding statute to our Statutes page.
We re-wrote the Enforcing an Out-of-State Protection Order in Alaska page based on changes to the law that take effect on September 17, 2017.
We added a new resource to our National Organization Child Abuse page in English and Spanish.
We added a state-specific Divorce page in Minnesota and 3 corresponding statutes in the State Statutes page.
We re-wrote the Kansas Protection from Stalking or Sexual Assault Orders based on changes to Kansas law, adding new questions and updating the rest of the information.
We added a page in Washington on Extreme Risk Protection Orders in English and 8 corresponding statutes to the State Statutes page.
We updated 3 resources on our Kansas Local Programs page.
In our Hawaii Know the Laws section, we added information to the question What types of orders for protection are there? How long do they last? about an order for a "period of separation" that police officers can issue. We also added the corresponding statute to our Statutes page.
We added a Vulnerable Adult Protection Orders page in English in the Washington Restraining Orders section and 9 corresponding statutes in the State Statutes page.
We added a small section in English and Spanish to our Colorado Restraining Orders section called Civil Protection Order Filed by an Employer in order to clarify that an employer can file for a domestic violence protection order, which is not the case in most states.
We added a Montana state-specific Divorce page and 4 corresponding statutes to our State Statutes page.
We added a California Workplace Violence Restraining Order page in English to provide information on the corresponding state statute.
We updated resources on our Montana Where to Find Help page in English. (1 Statewide; 25 Advocates and Shelters; 3 Legal Assistance; 1 Finding a Lawyer)
