I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3837 
To ensure that the confidential communications of a member of the Armed 
Forces with a victim service organization or a health care professional 
are not disclosed, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 20, 2005 
Ms. SLAUGHTER (for herself, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mrs. CAPITO, Mrs. CAPPS, 
Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. FILNER, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. HART, Ms. KILPATRICK 
of Michigan, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. MCDERMOTT, 
Mr. OWENS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. SOLIS, and Mr. WEXLER) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Serv-
ices 
A BILL 
To ensure that the confidential communications of a member 
of the Armed Forces with a victim service organization 
or a health care professional are not disclosed, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military Victims of 
Violence Confidentiality Act of 2005’’.
SEC. 2. VICTIM SERVICE ORGANIZATION PRIVILEGE, AND 
HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL PRIVILEGE, IN 
CASES ARISING UNDER THE UNIFORM CODE 
OF MILITARY JUSTICE. 
(a) PRIVILEGE ESTABLISHED.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter XI of chapter 47 
of title 10, United States Code (the Uniform Code 
of Military Justice), is amended by adding at the 
end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 941. Art. 141. Privilege for communication with 
victim service organization or health 
care professional 
‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE OF PRIVILEGE.—A client has 
a privilege to refuse to disclose and to prevent any other 
person from disclosing a confidential communication made 
between the client and a victim service organization or any 
representative of the organization, or between the client 
and a health care professional or any representative of the 
professional, in a case arising under this chapter, if such 
communication was made for the purpose of securing ad-
vice, counseling, treatment, or assistance concerning the 
client’s mental, physical, or emotional condition caused by 
domestic violence, family vilolence, dating violence, stalk-
ing, or sexual assault. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:
‘‘(1) The term ‘client’ means a person who 
consults with or is examined or interviewed by a vic-
tim service organization or any representative of the 
organization, or by a health care professional or any 
representative of the professional. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘victim service organization’ 
means an organization (whether public or private) 
that provides advice, counseling, or assistance to vic-
tims of domestic violence, family violence, dating vio-
lence, stalking, or sexual assault, or to the families 
of such victims. 
‘‘(3) The term ‘representative’, with respect to 
an organization or professional, means a person di-
rected by or assigned to assist that organization or 
professional, respectively, in providing advice, coun-
seling, treatment, or assistance. 
‘‘(4) The term ‘confidential communication’— 
‘‘(A) means a communication not intended 
to be disclosed to third persons other than— 
‘‘(i) those to whom disclosure is in 
furtherance of providing advice, counseling, 
treatment, or assistance to the client; and 
‘‘(ii) those reasonably necessary for 
disclosing under clause (i); and