A bill

 

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 16-25-10, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS PERTAINING TO A "DATING RELATIONSHIP" AND "COERCIVE CONTROL", SO AS TO INCLUDE PERSONS WHO ARE PRESENTLY IN OR HAVE FORMERLY BEEN IN A DATING RELATIONSHIP IN THE DEFINITION OF "HOUSEHOLD MEMBER" AND TO ADD THE DEFINTIONS OF DATING RELATIONSHIP AND COERCIVE CONTROL; BY AMENDING SECTION 16-25-20, RELATING TO PROHIBITED ACTS, SO AS TO MAKE IT UNLAWFUL FOR A PERSON TO ENGAGE IN COERCIVE CONTROL OVER A PERSON'S OWN HOUSEHOLD; BY AMENDING SECTION 20-3-10, RELATING TO GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE, SO AS TO INCLUDE CRIMINAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST A SPOUSE, STALKING, AND HARASSMENT AS GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE; BY AMENDING SECTION 20-4-20, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS PERTAINING TO ABUSE, SO AS TO INCLUDE HARASSMENT, STALKING, AND COERCIVE CONTROL INTO THE DEFINITIONS OF "ABUSE" AND TO FURTHER PROVIDE THAT A HOUSEHOLD MEMBER INCLUDES PERSONS WHO ARE PRESENTLY IN OR HAVE FORMERLY BEEN IN A DATING RELATIONSHIP; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 63-15-240, RELATING TO THE CONTENTS OF ORDER FOR CUSTODY AFFECTING RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF PARENTS AND THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD, SO AS TO INCLUDE THE STATUORY REFERENCE TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ADD STALKING AND HARRASSMENT AS ACTIVITY FOR A COURT TO CONSIDER WHEN DETERMINING WHAT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF A CHILD.

 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

 

SECTION 1.  Section 16-25-10 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 

    Section 16-25-10.  As used in this article, the term:

    (1) "Deadly weapon" means any pistol, dirk, slingshot, metal knuckles, razor, or other instrument which can be used to inflict deadly force.

    (2) "Great bodily injury" means bodily injury which causes a substantial risk of death or which causes serious, permanent disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member or organ.

    (3) "Household member" means:

       (a) a spouse;

       (b) a former spouse;

       (c) persons who have a child in common;  or

       (d) a male and femalepersons who are cohabiting or formerly have cohabited.; or

       (e) persons who are presently in or have formerly been in a dating relationship.

    (4) "Moderate bodily injury" means physical injury that involves prolonged loss of consciousness or that causes temporary or moderate disfigurement or temporary loss of the function of a bodily member or organ or injury that requires medical treatment when the treatment requires the use of regional or general anesthesia or injury that results in a fracture or dislocation. Moderate bodily injury does not include one-time treatment and subsequent observation of scratches, cuts, abrasions, bruises, burns, splinters, or any other minor injuries that do not ordinarily require extensive medical care.

    (5) "Prior conviction of domestic violence" includes conviction of any crime, in any state, containing among its elements those enumerated in, or substantially similar to those enumerated in, Section 16-25-20(A) that is committed against a household member as defined in item (3) within the ten years prior to the incident date of the current offense.

    (6) "Protection order" means any order of protection, restraining order, condition of bond, or any other similar order issued in this State or another state or foreign jurisdiction for the purpose of protecting a household member.

    (7) "Firearm" means a pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun, machine gun, submachine gun, or an assault rifle which is designed to fire or is capable of firing fixed cartridge ammunition or from which a shot or projectile is discharged by an explosive but does not include an antique firearm as defined in 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(16).

    (8)(a) "Dating relationship" means a romantic, courtship, or engagement relationship between two individuals that need not include sexual involvement. In addition to any other factors the court deems relevant, the court may consider the following factors when determining whether a relationship exists or existed:

           (i) length of the relationship;

           (ii) the nature or type of the relationship;

           (iii) the frequency of interaction between the two individuals involved in the relationship; and

           (iv) the time since termination of the relationship, if applicable.

       (b) A "dating relationship" does not include a casual relationship or ordinary fraternization between two individuals in a business or social context.

    (9) "Coercive Control" means a pattern of behavior that in purpose or effect unreasonably interferes with a person's free will and personal liberty. "Coercive control" includes a pattern of behavior that seeks to destroy the mental and emotional state of the other person, strip away the individual's sense of self, including bodily integrity and human rights. "Coercive control" may be committed directly or indirectly, including through the use of a third party and by any method or through any means including, but not limited to, telephone, online accounts, text messages, internet-connected devices or other electronic technologies. "Coercive control" does not include actions taken pursuant to a court order, court approved legal agreement, at the direction of law enforcement, or to protect the safety of a child. "Coercive control" is designed to make an individual dependent by isolating them from support, exploiting them, depriving them of independence and regulating their everyday behavior including:

        (a) isolating the person from friends, relatives, or other sources of support;

        (b) depriving the other person of basic necessities;

        (c) monitoring the person's communications, movements, daily activities and behavior, finances, economic resources, or access to services;

        (d) frequent name-calling, degrading and demeaning of the other person;

        (e) threatening to harm or kill the person or a child or relative;

        (f) threatening to publish private information or make reports of defamatory or false claims to police or authorities;

        (g) compelling the other person by force, threat of force, or intimidation to engage in conduct from which the other person has a right to abstain or to abstain from conduct in which the other party has a right to engage; or

        (h) engaging in reproductive coercion which consists of control over the reproductive autonomy of a person through force, threat of force, or intimidation.

 

SECTION 2.  Section 16-25-20(A) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 

    (A) It is unlawful to:

       (1) cause physical harm or injury to a person's own household member;  or

       (2) offer or attempt to cause physical harm or injury to a person's own household member with apparent present ability under circumstances reasonably creating fear of imminent peril.; or

       (3) engage in coercive control over a person's own household member.

 

SECTION 3.  Section 20-3-10 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 

    Section 20-3-10. No divorce from the bonds of matrimony shall be granted except upon one or more of the following grounds, to wit:

    (1) adultery;

    (2) desertion for a period of one year;

    (3) physical cruelty;

    (4) habitual drunkenness;  provided, that this ground shall be construed to include habitual drunkenness caused by the use of any narcotic drug;  or

    (5) domestic violence as defined by 16-25-20(A) or domestic abuse as defined by 20-4-20 against a spouse or minor child within a twelve month period prior to filing an action under this section or during the pendency of an action filed under this section; or

    (5)(6) on the application of either party if and when the husband and wife have lived separate and apart without cohabitation for a period of one year.  A plea of res judicata or of recrimination with respect to any other provision of this section shall not be a bar to either party obtaining a divorce on this ground.

 

SECTION 4.  Section 20-4-20 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 

    Section 20-4-20. As used in this chapter:

    (a) "Abuse" means:

       (1) physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or the threat of physical harm;

       (2) sexual criminal offenses, as otherwise defined by statute, committed against a family or household member by a family or household member.;

       (3) harassment or stalking as defined by Section 16-3-1700; or

       (4) coercive control as defined by Section 16-25-10.

    (b) "Household member" means:

       (i) a spouse;

       (ii) a former spouse;

       (iii) persons who have a child in common;

       (iv) a male and femalepersons who are cohabiting or formerly have cohabited.; or

       (v) persons who are presently in or have formerly been in a dating relationship as defined by Section 16-25-10.

    (c) "Court" means the Family Court.

    (d) "Petitioner" means the person alleging abuse in a petition for an order of protection.

    (e) "Respondent" in a petition for an order of protection means the person alleged to have abused another or a person alleged to have aided and abetted such abuse.

    (f) "Order of protection" means an order of protection issued to protect the petitioner or minor household members from the abuse of another household member where the respondent has received notice of the proceedings and has had an opportunity to be heard.

 

SECTION 5.  Section 63-15-240(B) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 

    (B) In issuing or modifying a custody order, the court must consider the best interest of the child, which may include, but is not limited to:

       (1) the temperament and developmental needs of the child;

       (2) the capacity and the disposition of the parents to understand and meet the needs of the child;

       (3) the preferences of each child;

       (4) the wishes of the parents as to custody;

       (5) the past and current interaction and relationship of the child with each parent, the child's siblings, and any other person, including a grandparent, who may significantly affect the best interest of the child;

       (6) the actions of each parent to encourage the continuing parent-child relationship between the child and the other parent, as is appropriate, including compliance with court orders;

       (7) the manipulation by or coercive behavior of the parents in an effort to involve the child in the parents' dispute;

       (8) any effort by one parent to disparage the other parent in front of the child;

       (9) the ability of each parent to be actively involved in the life of the child;

       (10) the child's adjustment to his or her home, school, and community environments;

       (11) the stability of the child's existing and proposed residences;

       (12) the mental and physical health of all individuals involved, except that a disability of a proposed custodial parent or other party, in and of itself, must not be determinative of custody unless the proposed custodial arrangement is not in the best interest of the child;

       (13) the child's cultural and spiritual background;

       (14) whether the child or a sibling of the child has been abused or neglected;

       (15) whether one parent has perpetrated domestic violence as provided in Section 16-25-20(A), stalking or harassment as defined in Section 16-3-1700, or child abuse or the effect on the child of the actions of an abuser if any domestic violence stalking or harassment has occurred between the parents or between a parent and another individual or between the parent and the child;

       (16) whether one parent has relocated more than one hundred miles from the child's primary residence in the past year, unless the parent relocated for safety reasons;  and

       (17) other factors as the court considers necessary.

 

SECTION 6.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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