Violence against Women in Kentucky
A THOMAS D. CLARK MEDALLION BOOK
The Thomas D. Clark Medallion was established to honor the memory and contributions of Dr. Thomas Dionysius Clark (19032005). A beloved teacher, prolific author, resolute activist, and an enthusiastic advocate of publications about Kentucky and the region, Dr. Clark helped establish the University of Kentucky Press in 1943, which was reorganized in 1969 as the University Press of Kentucky, the state-mandated scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth. The Clark Medallion is awarded annually to one University Press of Kentucky publication that achieves Dr. Clarks high standards of excellence and addresses his wide breadth of interests about the state. Winners of the Thomas D. Clark Medallion are selected by the Board of Directors of the Thomas D. Clark Foundation Inc., a private nonprofit organization established in 1994 to provide financial support for the publication of vital books about Kentucky and the region.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN KENTUCKY
A History of U.S. and State Legislative Reform
CAROL E. JORDAN
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Copyright 2014 by The University Press of Kentucky
Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth, serving Bellarmine University, Berea College, Centre College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, The Filson Historical Society, Georgetown College, Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University.
All rights reserved.
Editorial and Sales Offices: The University Press of Kentucky 663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508-4008 www.kentuckypress.com
Figures by Richard Gilbreath, University of Kentucky Cartography Lab.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jordan, Carol E., author.
Violence against women in Kentucky : a history of U.S. and state legislative reform / Carol E. Jordan.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8131-4491-7 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-8131-4493-1 (pdf) ISBN 978-0-8131-4494-8 (epub)
1. WomenCrimes againstKentuckyHistory. 2. Family violenceKentuckyHistory. 3. RapeKentucky.History. 4. Law reformKentuckyHistory. I. Title.
KFK1767.W53J67 2014
345.76902555dc23
2014003072
This book is printed on acid-free paper meeting the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
Member of the Association of American University Presses
A special thank you to our generous sponsors:
Sue Cumbee Badgett
Mark B. Davis Jr.
Lawrence and Sherry Jelsma
Melanie J. Kilpatrick
Stan MacDonald
Mark and Kate Neikirk
Alice Stevens Sparks
Myra Leigh Tobin
Orme Wilson
To women around the globe who have faced violence and who are so deserving of justice, and to the advocates who steadfastly took on the fight to achieve freedom for and with them.
To my advocate sisters who championed legislative reforms with me, and to the sense of humor we somehow kept despite the craziness of those days pushing our cause in the halls of the state capitol.
To the Kentucky General Assembly and its select brave members who, year after year, took on our cause as their own.
Ma Famille
mon pre, plus profondment et toujours.
Et ma mre qui tait prsent pour chaque instant de ma vie.
Michel et Bradley, personne dautre ne peut tre aussi bien pass et lavenir de mon coeur que vous tes.
Aux trois enfants qui sont venus au monde, vous tes la source dune joie sans fin et, si vos parents le croient ou non, la perfection absolue.
Contents
Preface
If an author must identify the moment when she decided to write a book, for me, it was when I was speaking to a group of womens advocates and they were astonished by the stories I told of the legislative reforms we had made over the past decades. They knew nothing of them. And it was the moment when I noticed that the phone was not ringing as often with people calling to ask me when we had passed a particular piece of legislation addressing rape, domestic violence, or stalking. I took the absence of the ringing phone to mean that this generation of advocates and practitioners was beginning to take reforms for granted, that they did not understand that the protections and services they count on daily were not always available. And it was the moment when a supportive legislator asked me why we advocates were less visible in the halls of the state capitol. And it was certainly the moment when a favorite colleague asked me to write our history. Admittedly, that is four moments, but sometimes it takes repeated encouragement to undertake an awesome task.
This book is a history, a chronicle of legislative reforms related to domestic violence,* rape, and stalking. In addition to articulating what a book offers, it is important for an author to be clear about what a book cannot achieve. This book, for example, cannot provide a total history of women in Kentucky. To provide context, there are snippets of womens history in Kentucky, but the complete story will not be found here. Nor is this book a comprehensive look at the violence against women movement in Kentucky; it is much more narrowly focused on the legislative reforms we have achieved. As this book goes to print, there are still more stories to be told about our movement, more of a history to be written about the development of domestic violence programs, rape crisis centers, adult protective services reforms, innovative policies, and more. I encourage my readers to make sure those stories are written. This book is a selective look at legislationjust over 100 billsthat I believe impacted the violence against women movement in Kentucky. Arguably, other advocates could point out important bills that should have been included and perhaps some that should have been left on the cutting room floor.
The book is a history of Kentucky, to be sure, but it also covers national reforms, and its guidance for legislative strategies can be applied to any state. The stories of how Kentucky advocates worked to win passage of controversial reforms will resonate with advocates across the country. In this sense, the book is a case study of one states experience reforming the law on behalf of battered women and rape survivors.
The latter part of the book contains the legislative chronicle. These chapters tell the tales of reforms that sought to restore justice to those from whom it had been stolen and reforms intended to increase the protection of women and children. These legislative accomplishments took several forms. First, and perhaps most visibly, they amended the criminal law by strengthening existing statutes and creating new ones; they amended civil statutes to adapt to the unique needs of rape, domestic violence, and stalking victims; they created and improved protective and other services for women; they articulated special rights for all crime victims; and, finally, they appropriated funding for the critical network of service providers across the state.
