D.C. officials are hoping to increase protections for survivors of domestic violence and toughen the consequences for abusers.
The Protecting Victims Act of 2026 would strengthen the enforcement of court orders to protect victims, strengthen pretrial detention of domestic violence offenders, enhance accountability for offenders and protect victim and survivor privacy, according to Mayor Muriel Bowser, who announced the legislation Friday alongside U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro.
The bill would also make repeat violations of temporary and civil protection orders a felony, give more authority to the courts to detain people charged with domestic violence offenses, make unlawful entry a felony in cases where an accused offender enters a home to commit an assault, and create a new crime for particular offenses committed in the presence of a child.
Pirro said she was surprised to learn D.C. did not have a separate charge in cases where domestic violence takes place in the presence of a child.
“We’ve got to make that a crime, because there is no question that the consequences are long-term in terms of that child learning that violence is the only way to resolve conflict in their lives based upon what they are seeing between their parents or intimate partners,” Pirro said.
Pirro also said she’d like to see enhanced sentencing for offenders who strangle their partners.
“Right now, my office has filed 90 felony strangulation cases,” she said, adding that her office was on track to “file 360 before the end of the year.”
Pirro said while strangulation was recategorized as a felony from a misdemeanor — as a result of the Secure D.C. Act — the sentencing guidelines remain, in her view, low.
“When someone strangles an intimate partner, they’re 800% more likely to kill that person in the future,” Pirro said.
At the opening of his remarks, Interim D.C. Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said there have been a string of domestic violence cases recently that have ended in murder and/or suicide.
“And just this past Tuesday night, a suspect shot and wounded his former girlfriend and another man, before taking his own life,” Carroll said. “Although violent crime is down, domestic offenses are fueling an increase in assault with dangerous weapons, which are up 36%.”
He also highlighted a new public information campaign called “Know DV.”
“We want every resident to know the signs of domestic violence and know the resources that are available,” he said. “The message to the survivors is clear: know that you are not alone.”
Natalia Otero, executive director of D.C. Safe, spoke at Friday’s announcement.
“We’ve seen what happens when systems move too slowly, and what it costs survivors when patterns of violence go unaddressed,” she said.
Otero said her organization, D.C.’s only 24/7 crisis intervention agency for domestic violence, has been pushing for years for measures such as those in the Protecting Victims Act of 2026.
She called the proposed legislation “a critical step in supporting survivors and saving lives.”
Referencing a series of lethal domestic violence cases, including that of Dr. Cerina Fairfax, who was killed by her husband, former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, Otero said, “The general public, once again, has been witness to the devastation that intimate partner violence can cause. It is pervasive and exists across socioeconomic lines and across every neighborhood, and it is our responsibility to solve it.”
Bowser said she will be discussing the proposed legislation with members of the D.C. Council, working with them to schedule hearings and quickly move the legislation forward.
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