To: The Texas State House, The Texas State Senate, and Governor Greg Abbott
Texas - Take Domestic Violence and Rape Seriously
Rapists and abusers often do not serve jail time but rather get put on probation. Rapists and abusers are also allowed to sue their victims for custody of their child(ren), despite their felony crimes, and easily receive unsupervised visitation and cause their victims to face them weekly to force them to hand over their child(ren) to their rapists or abusers, as the victims fear for the safety of that child or those children. Rapists and abusers may also demand that the child(ren)'s last name be changed to theirs, which the Texas government automatically grants.
Why is this important?
I am a victim of rape and abuse, and my attacker, though he confessed his crimes and was found guilty in court, did not spend one day in jail but rather was placed on probation. I must face my abuser weekly to hand over my one-year-old son, wondering if he will return unharmed. The state did nothing to help me. They gladly gave this proven-in-court-felon even more power over both my baby and me. They also forced me to change my son's surname from mine to that of my rapist's and abuser's. This is effecting women and children all over Texas, and it needs to stop!