Every day in the United States, survivors of abuse are being failed by outdated, inconsistent, and harmful laws. Survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, elder abuse, trafficking, financial abuse, coercive control, and family court abuse face a legal system that was never built to protect them -- and the consequences are devastating. 

 

The Broken and Rising Foundation, a survivor - led national nonprofit, has created a comprehensive Legislative Reform Packet designed to fix these systemic failures. These reforms are based on lived experience, statutory analysis, case law, and national data - and they are ready for lawmakers to adopt now. 

 

We are calling on federal and state lawmakers to adopt these reforms immediately.

 

Why Change Is Urgently Needed

 

Across the country, survivors are being harmed because:

1. State laws contain major gaps that deny survivors protection
2. 
   Abusers avoid accountability through immunity loopholes
3.  
4. Survivors are pushed into homelessness due to lack of emergency housing protections
5.  
6. Law enforcement responses vary dramatically, leaving many unprotected
7.  
8. Courts often retraumatize survivors due to the absence of trauma‑informed standards
9.  
10. Vulnerable communities — Indigenous, LGBTQ+, veterans, elderly, disabled, immigrants, men, women — face even greater barriers to safety and justice
11.  
12. No survivor should be left unprotected simply because of the state they live in.

What the Legislative Reform Packet Proposes

 

A nationally applicable, survivor‑led set of reforms including:

 

• Consistent definitions and protections for all forms of abuse
•  
• Mandatory trauma‑informed standards for law enforcement and courts
•  
• Removal of immunity for individuals or agencies whose actions harm survivors
•  
• Emergency housing protections to prevent survivor homelessness
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• Strong enforcement and accountability mechanisms
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• Survivor‑led testimony and evidence pathways
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• Clear statutory language that states can adopt without modification

These reforms are practical, implementable, and urgently needed.

 

How These Reforms Can Be Implemented

• 
  State legislatures can adopt the model statutory language directly
•  
• Federal lawmakers can support national standards and funding
•  
• Agencies can update policies to meet trauma‑informed requirements
•  
• Coalitions and nonprofits can support implementation
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• Survivors can submit testimony and lived‑experience evidence to lawmakers
•  
• This is a roadmap for real, measurable change.

 

 

National Call to Action — September 30, 2026

On September 30, 2026, survivors, families, allies, and advocates across the United States will gather at every state capital to demand adoption of these reforms.

 

If you cannot attend, you may submit your story to be carried to your state capital by another survivor or ally.

 

This is a peaceful, unified movement for change — and your voice matters.

 

Our Demand

 

We demand that lawmakers at every level adopt the Broken and Rising Legislative Reform Packet and commit to meaningful, enforceable, trauma‑informed legislation that protects survivors nationwide.

 

Sign this petition to stand with survivors and demand the legal reforms we urgently need.

 

For more information or to join the movement: Broken and Rising Foundation

Phone: 318‑620‑4122

Email: brokenandrisingfoundation@gmail.com