Guest columnists Madeleine Behr, Amanda Pyron: Victims' voices heard in law ending money bail

Throughout this year's legislative session, opponents of the Pretrial Fairness Act - a part of the more comprehensive SAFE-T Act - have used stories of sexual and domestic violence to make false claims about what legislation ending money bail will do. Lies about the law that are designed to create fear and resistance to reform have been repeated at recent press conferences. It is incredibly frustrating to see survivors' stories weaponized to keep wealth-based incarceration in place, especially considering that survivor advocates like us helped write this policy to end it.

Anti gender-based violence organizations have been on the front lines in the fight for a fair pretrial system in Illinois since Day One, working with groups across the state to stop one of the major injustices of our criminal legal system: wealth-based incarceration. We have been here making sure that survivors' voices are heard and taken seriously while fixing our pretrial practices.

Today's pretrial system does not prioritize the safety of victims. How can it when wealth is the most important factor in determining someone's release? Detained people who can access money are treated as if they're inherently more deserving of freedom and a lower threat than someone who can't pay up. This means individuals who are charged with sexual or domestic violence and are able to be released immediately by posting bail - through their own finances, by pressuring the victim or other resources - can place the security of survivors at risk.

We should trust survivors when they tell us what they need to be safe. Yet their voices are often excluded from decisions that deeply impact their lives. Too often, judges and prosecutors move quickly between cases and do not provide meaningful opportunities for survivors' input about how someone's release would impact their security. Additionally, survivors are not consistently notified by law enforcement when the person who has caused them harm is released. Sometimes they're shocked to find out their perpetrator is free when they see it on social media, hear it from a friend or their abuser shows up to harass or assault them again. Simply put, current procedures raise the risk of further harm.

Thanks to the Pretrial Fairness Act, people charged with abusive or violent offenses will be held for up to 48-hours after their arrest, regardless of how much money they have. This new window allows the state time to consult with the survivor and gather evidence. It gives the survivor time to take steps to secure their safety should their abuser be released. Also, rather than setting bail somewhat arbitrarily and moving on to the next case, the law requires that judges evaluate whether a person should be incarcerated pretrial. This means people will go through a more robust detention hearing before being eligible for release. Survivors will have more significant inclusion in the pretrial process, from the initial hearing to subsequent release hearings. Ending the use of money bail and implementing comprehensive hearings through the Pretrial Fairness Act ensures that all survivors have access to the safety and support they deserve.

If opponents are successful in their attempts to repeal the SAFE-T Act and its key provision, the Pretrial Fairness Act, they will endanger community safety and take away significant victim protections. Instead of succumbing to fearmongering, Illinois should proudly praise bail reform, as it is the only state to pass it with the support of survivor advocacy groups. Let's listen to and champion survivors through this reform, not uphold wealth-based incarceration that actively diminishes their safety.

• Madeleine Behr is the policy manager at the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation. Amanda Pyron is executive director of The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence.