A bill designed to help protect victims of dating violence that lawmakers said was a high priority is on its way to the Senate.
The bill, which has passed the House unanimously almost a year ago, would close a loophole in the state’s current domestic-violence laws.
It would allow victims of dating violence to get civil protection orders without meeting the higher threshold for domestic violence. The legislation also provides greater access to domestic violence shelters. And the bill would add dating violence to the Attorney General’s Victims’ Bill of Rights.
The bill unanimously passed the Senate committee and heads to the full Senate soon. Ohio lags behind the rest of the country because most states already have laws on the books addressing dating violence.
