Professor Stoever Testifies before the California Senate Committee on Public Safety
Professor Stoever, Director of the Domestic Violence Clinic and UCI Initiative to End Family Violence, continues to champion new ways for the law to respond to and support domestic violence survivors. On June 28, 2022, Stoever testified before the California Senate Committee on AB 2790 (Wicks), Centering Survivor Safety and Health. The UCI Law Domestic Violence Clinic is co-sponsoring the bill with Futures Without Violence and The Alliance for Boys and Men of Color.
AB 2790 allows abuse survivors to get medical care without mandatory police involvement. The bill would remove the requirement that a health practitioner make a report to law enforcement when they suspect a patient has suffered physical injury caused by assaultive or abusive conduct. The bill would instead require a health care practitioner who suspects that a patient has been injured by domestic violence to provide brief counseling and a referral to local and national domestic violence or sexual violence advocacy services, replacing mandatory police reporting with mandatory support that recognizes multiple pathways to safety.
In her testimony, Stoever explained that some Domestic Violence Clinic clients reveal being afraid of seeking healthcare because of California’s medical mandatory reporting to police of adult domestic violence. “For our clients who do seek medical care,” Stoever went on to say, “they often don’t disclose the cause of harm due to fear of unwanted police contact. Without patient disclosures, doctors aren’t able to offer safety resources or document the abuse.”
Stoever shared recent research with the Senate, testifying, “Although the law was well-intentioned when enacted, our domestic violence services have evolved, and current research shows that 83% of abuse survivors who experience this medical mandatory reporting state that it made their situation much worse, somewhat worse, or did nothing to improve it. In contrast, when survivors are able to openly disclose abuse to their nurses and doctors without fear of police involvement, they are four times more likely to utilize domestic violence resources and agencies, which is key to safety.”
The bill was introduced by Assembly Member Buffy Wicks and co-author Assembly Member Cristina Garcia. AB 2790 passed the Assembly in May, and the UCI Law Domestic Violence Clinic and co-sponsors will continue their advocacy as the bill proceeds in the Senate.
More about Jane Stoever
Prof. Jane Stoever has extensive experience teaching domestic violence clinics and engaging in scholarship in the areas of domestic violence law, family law, feminist legal theory, and clinical legal theory. In addition to her role as Clinical Professor of Law and the Director of the Domestic Violence Clinic at UCI Law, she is also the Director of the UCI Initiative to End Family Violence.
Prior to joining UCI Law, Professor Stoever was a faculty member at American University Washington College of Law and Seattle University School of Law, and she taught in Georgetown University Law Center’s Domestic Violence Clinic. She previously served as a judicial clerk, worked at legal aid offices and at a shelter for teenage girls, and was a live-in staff member at a shelter for homeless families. Prof. Stoever graduated from Harvard Law School and received her LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center.