Survivors and advocates met with West Virginia lawmakers this week at the State Capitol in Charleston to provide input on domestic violence-related legislation.
Bills under consideration would create a statewide domestic violence offender registry, expand sentences for domestic violence, include coercive control as part of the definition of domestic violence, and allow virtual batterer prevention programs.
Joyce Yedlosky, executive director of the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said substance use, criminal behaviors, childhood trauma and other social issues can often be traced to household violence.
“We often take those behaviors and isolate them as just that,” she said, “and now our communities are starting to say that maybe what’s underneath some this, is these complex traumas that are happening.”
In 2025, the state’s 14 licensed domestic-violence programs provided nonstop crisis intervention to nearly 12,000 adults and 1,400 children. That includes emergency shelter, safety planning, counseling, housing assistance and other services.
Yedlosky said many victims, even after they’ve left the relationship, want their abuser to rehabilitate. She explained that batterer intervention programs work on accountability, anger management, and fostering healthy relationships, but said there are challenges accessing these programs in rural regions.
She said House Bill 5466, which now sits with the Health and Human Services Committee, would change that.
“Batterer intervention programs are licensed by the Family Protection Services Board, and this bill would simply allow [the] door to be opened for virtual BIPs classes,” she said, “and then the Family Protection Services Board could create rules for what the structure of those classes would look like.”
She said lawmakers had the opportunity to meet directly with survivors and advocates this week as they considered the bills.
“Some survivors were there just to gain experience, and some were there to actually talk with their legislators,” she said. “And I thought we had a really fantastic day, and had a lot of good responses.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the lifetime cost of domestic violence is estimated to be more than $3 trillion nationwide, including medical, criminal justice, foster care and disability costs. If you or someone you know is in a domestic violence situation and needs help, call the national hotline at 800-799-7233, or text 88788.
