Fair Housing for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Survivors Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 3061 To provide protection for survivors of domestic violence or sexual assault under the Fair Housing Act. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 16, 2019 Mrs. SHAHEEN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To provide protection for survivors of domestic violence or sexual assault under the Fair Housing Act. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fair Housing for Do- 4 mestic Violence and Sexual Assault Survivors Act of 5 2019’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 Congress makes the following findings: 8 (1) Cities, towns, and rural communities in the 9 United States continue to face enormous challenges 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Dec 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3061.IS S3061 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 3061 IS regarding domestic violence, sexual assault, dating 1 violence, stalking, and other forms of intimate part- 2 ner violence. 3 (2) One in 3 women have experienced rape, 4 physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner 5 in their lifetime. 6 (3) Approximately 7,000,000 women are raped 7 or physically assaulted by a current or former inti- 8 mate partner each year. 9 (4) Each day, an average of 3 women are killed 10 by a current or former partner. 11 (5) Researchers estimate that domestic violence 12 costs employers up to $13,000,000,000 each year. 13 (6) A fundamental component of ending domes- 14 tic and sexual violence is securing safe and afford- 15 able housing for victims. 16 (7) Research indicates that— 17 (A) nearly 50 percent of all homeless 18 women report that domestic violence was the 19 immediate cause of their homelessness; 20 (B) 92 percent of homeless women report 21 having experienced severe physical or sexual vi- 22 olence at some point in their lives; 23 (C) victims become homeless as a result of 24 sexual assault, and once homeless, are vulner- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Dec 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3061.IS S3061 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 3061 IS able to further sexual victimization and exploi- 1 tation; 2 (D) women of color in the lowest income 3 category experience 6 times the rate of nonfatal 4 intimate partner violence compared to White 5 women in the highest income category; 6 (E) poor women of color, domestic violence 7 victims, and women with children have a high 8 risk of eviction; and 9 (F) approximately 38 percent of all victims 10 of domestic violence become homeless at some 11 point in their life. 12 (8) Surveys show that a majority of victims who 13 experience a sexual assault in their home do not re- 14 locate to a safe environment because they do not 15 have sufficient funds and are not aware of better op- 16 tions. 17 (9) Domestic and sexual violence victims often 18 find themselves trapped in homes where they are 19 further victimized by caregivers, parents, siblings, 20 landlords, intimate partners, neighbors, or others in 21 or near their home. Economic insecurity and the 22 trauma that often follows sexual assault make it dif- 23 ficult, if not impossible, for many victims to access 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Dec 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3061.IS S3061 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 3061 IS safe, affordable housing options for themselves and 1 their families. 2 (10) Domestic and sexual violence victims con- 3 tinue to face discrimination in securing and main- 4 taining housing based on their status as victims and 5 as a result of crimes committed against them. 6 (11) Research by the Attorney General of the 7 State of New York found that 67 percent of domes- 8 tic violence victims reported that discrimination by 9 landlords is a significant obstacle in obtaining hous- 10 ing. 11 (12) Research also shows that victims of domes- 12 tic violence or sexual assault are commonly denied 13 housing opportunities if a previous residence of the 14 victim was a domestic violence shelter, if the victim 15 has secured a protective order, or if there is other 16 evidence that the victim has experienced a previous 17 domestic violence incident. 18 (13) Studies show that victims of domestic vio- 19 lence or sexual assault often face eviction based on 20 a single domestic violence incident. 21 (14) It is in the public interest to ensure that 22 victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating 23 violence, stalking, and other forms of intimate part- 24 ner violence are not discriminated against, particu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Dec 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3061.IS S3061 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 3061 IS larly with respect to housing, based on their status 1 as victims or the crimes committed against them. 2 (15) Nothing in this Act should be interpreted 3 to limit the ability of victims of domestic violence or 4 sexual assault to recover for claims of discrimination 5 on the basis of sex or race under the Fair Housing 6 Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.), including with respect 7 to failure to conform to gender stereotypes or poli- 8 cies that disproportionately affect women. 9 SEC. 3. SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OR SEXUAL 10 ASSAULT AS PROTECTED CLASS UNDER THE 11 FAIR HOUSING ACT. 12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 13 3601 et seq.) is amended— 14 (1) in section 802 (42 U.S.C. 3602), by adding 15 at the end the following: 16 ‘‘(p) ‘Domestic violence’— 17 ‘‘(1) has the meaning given the term in section 18 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 19 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)); and 20 ‘‘(2) includes— 21 ‘‘(A) dating violence and stalking, as de- 22 fined in such section 40002(a); and 23 ‘‘(B) threatened domestic violence. 24 ‘‘(q) ‘Sexual assault’— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Dec 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3061.IS S3061 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 3061 IS ‘‘(1) has the meaning given the term in section 1 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 2 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)); and 3 ‘‘(2) includes threatened sexual assault.’’; 4 (2) in section 804 (42 U.S.C. 3604)— 5 (A) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘, or be- 6 cause the person is a survivor of domestic vio- 7 lence or sexual assault’’ before the period at the 8 end; 9 (B) in subsection (b), by inserting, ‘‘, or 10 because the person is a survivor of domestic vio- 11 lence or sexual assault’’ before the period at the 12 end; 13 (C) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘or na- 14 tional origin’’ and inserting, ‘‘national origin, or 15 whether a person is a survivor of domestic vio- 16 lence or sexual assault’’; 17 (D) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘, or 18 because the person is a survivor of domestic vio- 19 lence or sexual assault,’’ after ‘‘national origin’’; 20 and 21 (E) in subsection (e), by inserting ‘‘, or of 22 a person or persons who are survivors of domes- 23 tic violence or sexual assault’’ before the period 24 at the end; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Dec 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3061.IS S3061 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 3061 IS (3) in section 805 (42 U.S.C. 3605)— 1 (A) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘, or be- 2 cause the person is a survivor of domestic vio- 3 lence or sexual assault’’ before the period at the 4 end; and 5 (B) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘or fa- 6 milial status’’ and inserting ‘‘familial status, or 7 whether a person is a survivor of domestic vio- 8 lence or sexual assault’’; 9 (4) in section 806 (42 U.S.C. 3606), by striking 10 ‘‘or national origin’’ and inserting ‘‘national origin, 11 or whether a person is a survivor of domestic vio- 12 lence or sexual assault’’; 13 (5) in section 807 (42 U.S.C. 3607), by adding 14 at the end the following: 15 ‘‘(c) Nothing in this title shall prohibit Federal, 16 State, or local governmental or other assistance or a pref- 17 erence program designed to assist or benefit domestic vio- 18 lence or sexual assault survivors in seeking, securing, or 19 maintaining dwellings, shelters, or any other form of hous- 20 ing, including associated notices, statements, or advertise- 21 ments.’’; and 22 (6) in section 808(e)(6) (42 U.S.C. 3608(e)(6)), 23 by inserting ‘‘status as a survivor of domestic vio- 24 lence or sexual assault,’’ after ‘‘handicap,’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Dec 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3061.IS S3061 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 3061 IS (b) PREVENTION OF INTIMIDATION IN FAIR HOUS- 1 ING CASES.—The Civil Rights Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 2 1301 et seq.) is amended— 3 (1) in section 901 (42 U.S.C. 3631)— 4 (A) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘, or be- 5 cause the person is a survivor of domestic vio- 6 lence or sexual assault,’’ after ‘‘national origin’’; 7 (B) in subsection (b)(1), by inserting ‘‘or 8 because the person is a survivor of domestic vio- 9 lence or sexual assault,’’ after ‘‘national ori- 10 gin,’’; and 11 (C) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘or be- 12 cause the person is a survivor of domestic vio- 13 lence or sexual assault,’’ after ‘‘national ori- 14 gin,’’; and 15 (2) by inserting after section 901 the following: 16 ‘‘DEFINITIONS 17 ‘‘SEC. 902. In this title, the terms ‘domestic violence’ 18 and ‘sexual assault’ have the meanings given those terms 19 in section 802.’’. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Dec 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3061.IS S3061 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS