Protecting confidentiality for abuse victims

Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden joined legislators and victims’ rights groups to unveil legislation designed to protect the identity of victims of domestic abuse.

The bill would help abuse victims keep their street address confidential through the creation of the Address Confidentiality Program. “In this age when many public records are accessible through a simple Internet search, this legislation provides survivors a necessary tool to keep their address secret from those who have targeted them,” says Biden.

The program allow victims of domestic abuse, sexual assault, stalking or those in the witness protection program to utilize a Post Office Box address for employment, billing, governmental or other personal matters. The victim’s street address would only be disclosed to law enforcement in an emergency.

The program would be run by the Attorney General’s Victim Witness Assistance Program at no cost to participants. 17 other states have implemented similar programs.