SPRINGFIELD – Civil no-contact order eligibility would be expanded to include family and household members of survivors of sexual assault under legislation sponsored by State Senator Karina Villa (D-West Chicago), which passed the Senate Thursday.

“Family members of sexual assault survivors can have shared trauma and feel the need to seek a no-contact order,” Villa said. “People who are closest with a survivor should not have to live in fear of contact with their loved one’s abuser.” 

Under current law, a petition for a civil no-contact order can be filed by a survivor of non-consensual sexual conduct or by another person on behalf of a survivor who cannot file the petition. Villa’s measure would expand eligibility to offer protections for family or household members of survivors of sexual harassment and assault.

In order to qualify for these protections, the person filing the petition must first receive consent from the survivor.

“The safety and well-being of a survivor is the number one priority after a sexual assault, and no-contact orders can be key to protecting them,” Villa said. “This measure will help ensure survivors and their families do not have to relive traumatic events due to unwanted contact with their abuser.”

House Bill 1742 passed the Senate with a vote of 57-0.