By Amanda Iacone
Virginia Statehouse News

RICHMOND — Virginians will no longer need to be married or have a child in common to seek protective orders, opening up such shelter against threatening boyfriends, neighbors or even co-workers.

Gov. Bob McDonnell signed into law a bill that expands the criteria used to obtain protective orders. He signed a number of bills aimed at better protecting victims of sexual and domestic violence victims during a ceremony Friday morning at the Governor’s Mansion.

Delegate Rob Bell, R-Albemarle County, said the new protective order law started from an effort to curb dating violence — work that began before the death of Yeardley Love, a senior lacrosse player at the University of Virginia.

Several protective order bills were filed during the 2010 legislative session and were sent to the state’s crime commission for review and analysis.

But Love’s death in May 2010 gave the commission’s work more urgency.  Her case is also the reason the lawmakers were able to push the bill through this session successfully, Bell said.

Love’s death was ruled a homicide, and her on-again, off-again boyfriend George L. Huguely faces murder charges in connection with her death. A preliminary hearing was held earlier this week in Charlottesville. And a grand jury is set to consider the case Monday.

“The issue about dating violence and protective orders for dating violence was something we were working on. The tragedy in Charlottesville obviously gave it a real strong impetus for us to get something done. Stop studying it and get something done this year,” Bell said. “It focused a lot of attention on the issue of dating violence.”

Under current law, protective orders can only be filed against a family member or member of the household or if the couple has a child in common. Victims also can seek the orders if they file criminal charges, but sometimes victims don’t want to go through that process, Bell said.

“We want to make it easier,” Bell said.

Defining what a “dating” relationship means was too cumbersome, and policy makers decided to focus on the nature of the threat. The new law would allow the protective orders to be filed by anyone who fears bodily harm, sexual assault, or who actually has been injured regardless of family status, he said.

Kristi Van Audenhove, co-director of the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance, called the bill a historic piece of legislation. She said it will help countless women who may not have received help before and that it will reshape law enforcement’s response to sexual and domestic violence.

“Violence happens within relationships whether or not there is a marriage license. It can continue even when one partner chooses to the leave the relationship. While women may be predominantly victims, violence can be directed to people of any gender identity,” Van Audenhove said. “The protective order bill signed today by Governor McDonnell will, for the first time in Virginia history, offer equal protection to all victims of sexual and domestic violence.”

Another bill McDonnell signed will allow the use of GPS systems to keep track of anyone who has a protective order filed against them, as well as those on probation. The trackers will help law enforcement prosecute violations as well as to intervene immediately should violations occur.

Such a device could have kept Linda Bostwick, of Collinsville, alive. She was killed in the workplace by someone who had repeatedly violated a protection order, McDonnell said.

McDonnell also signed a bill that expands statewide a pilot program that allows the victims of domestic abuse or other violence to have their mail forwarded through the Attorney General’s office and then redirected to their actual address. The office works with 17 localities to accept mail, child support payments, even court paperwork to ensure the residence of victims is unknown to their attackers or abusers.

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said it will cost about $6,000 to expand the program.

“It’s simple, but inexpensive and effective,” Cuccinelli said.

The governor also signed a bill that would give the victims of child sexual abuse extra time to file a civil lawsuit against their alleged abusers. Instead of the two year statute of limitations for most civil lawsuits, victims  now will have 20 years from the time they turn 18 or from the time they remember the events to file a lawsuit.