LANSING, Mich. — A legislative plan to create an address confidentiality program that would help protect victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and human trafficking from their attackers was recently signed into law by the governor.
Under the plan, victims will be able to obtain a confidential address for official documents, such as driver’s licenses and mail correspondence, to help protect them from their past offenders.
“These bills provide a simple way of restoring assault survivors’ peace of mind by shielding their real physical address from suspecting eyes and from those who may wish to do them further harm,” said Sen. Lana Theis, R-Brighton. “I am grateful for the strong bipartisan support the bills received and that the governor signed them so quickly.”
Theis sponsored Senate Bill 75 in the plan, which allows participants to have their designated address printed on official state of Michigan identification cards.
The program also affords children the same address confidentiality if they are at risk of being threatened or physically harmed, or if they or their parents or guardians are victims of domestic violence, stalking, human trafficking, rape or sexual battery. A school won’t be allowed to disclose the address of a pupil or a pupil’s parents or guardians if they are program participants.
A program participant’s location will also be made confidential in the state’s Qualified Voter File system and participants would be exempt from jury duty.
Michigan now joins with most other states that have similar laws in place.
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