Miyares urges domestic violence victims to take advantage of Virginia’s Address Confidentiality Program

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) is urging victims to take advantage of a state program designed to ensure abusers can’t find their victims. “We don’t want the abuser to be able to track down their victim,” Miyares told 8News. The program is called the Address Confidentiality Program. The way it works is eligible victims of domestic violence, stalking and certain other crimes who have recently moved, will be given a card from the attorney general’s office with an alternative address on it, typically a P.O. Box. Victims can then present that card to state agencies and companies to use at their official address. “It is a shield for you to make sure that those individuals that want to do you harm can’t find you,” Miyares explained. Any mail sent to that P.O. box will then be forwarded confidentially to your actual address by staff at the attorney general’s office. “There are search engines that can track down where your cell phone bill goes. Oftentimes that is a very useful tool for people to track down where people may actually be residing,” Miyares said. This way your cell phone bill will go to this PO Box with the Attorney General’s Office. Victims can apply to participate in the Address Confidentiality Program by reaching out to their local domestic violence assistance program.