Stop the CREEP! NYC advocates mobilize to push for a vote on anti-stalking bill
Source: AMNY
NYC advocates are rallying around a state bill that would allow New York’s civil courts to issue anti-stalking orders that can immediately provide protections against this form of harassment.
As it now stands, New York limits anti-stalking orders to criminal and family courts. The bill would allow anyone to request a temporary order of protection in Civil Supreme Court, and receive a hearing on that day or the next day that court is open.
The legislation, named the Ceasing Repeated and Extremely Egregious Predatory (CREEP) Behavior Act, follows the model of 43 other states that have enacted emergency anti-stalking orders to give stalking victims a faster path to protection.
“Every New Yorker deserves to feel safe, but right now our laws are failing too many people who are facing stalking and harassment—especially as abuse increasingly takes place online,” said the bill’s Assembly sponsor Jessica González-Rojas (D-Queens) in a written statement. “The CREEP Act would give survivors a clear and immediate path to protection, without forcing them to wait for the system to catch up or for the situation to escalate.”
The bill passed in the state Senate in February but remains in the Assembly’s Judiciary Committee. Advocates are enlisting the Brooklyn rapper Joey Bada$$, model-activist Lameka Fox and Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez to help raise the profile of the bill and dislodge it from its state of limbo. The bill also passed the Senate last summer but subsequently died in the Assembly.
Assembly Member Charles Lavine (D-Nassau County), chair of the chamber’s Judiciary Committee, is a supporter of the bill, but declined to comment on whether he would have time to pass the CREEP Act through the committee in time to put it up for a vote during the current session.
“I am a co-sponsor of this important piece of proposed legislation. I am very optimistic that it is going to become law,” Lavine said in a statement to amNew York.
The civil order of protection can require someone accused of stalking to stop all contact with the victim, stay away from places like their home or school, stop digital surveillance, delete harmful images or videos, pay legal costs and undergo mental health treatment.
The legislation sets up a system for a judge to issue both a temporary anti-stalking order for immediate relief, and a final order in case the temporary order fails to be effective.
Violations or such an order can lead to criminal charges like menacing and contempt.
“By allowing civil courts to step in earlier, we can prevent further harm and ensure people have the support they need when they need it most. Passing the CREEP Act means updating our laws for an era where harassment extends into digital spaces and ensuring survivors receive the safety and dignity they deserve,” González-Rojas said.
