🕯️ Sandy’s Law: The Price She Paid, The Road She Built

Photo by jerry klein/Unsplash

[WeSurviveAbuse.com]

There are women today who believe that feminism is no longer needed.
But sometimes the only reason it feels unnecessary is because you are walking a little safer on roads other women built with their lives.

One of those women was Sandra “Sandy” Berfield.

📍Who Was Sandy?

Sandy Berfield was a hardworking waitress in Massachusetts. She had recently suffered the heartbreaking loss of her child and was doing her best to rebuild her life. But even in her grief, she was not left alone.

She was being stalked—relentlessly and obsessively—by a man she barely knew from work. An acquaintance. Someone she had no close relationship with.

And yet, he would not leave her alone.

🚫 The Law Failed Her

At that time, Massachusetts law only allowed restraining orders against people with whom the victim had:

• A familial relationship

• A romantic or intimate relationship

• Lived in the same household

So even though this man was stalking Sandy, threatening her, and escalating his behavior—she could not get a criminally enforceable protection order.

There was no legal recognition of the danger she was in.
No paperwork.
No police backup.
No justice system built for her.

Sandy tried everything she could.
She fought.
She warned others.
She tried to protect herself.
But the law refused to listen.

💥 Her Death Was Preventable

In 2000, Sandy Berfield was murdered when a package bomb was delivered to her home—sent by the man who had been stalking her.
He had fixated on her.
He had targeted her.
And the law had failed to recognize the threat until it was far too late.

⚖️ The Law Changed—Because People Refused to Forget

In the wake of Sandy’s murder, advocates, lawmakers, and Survivors came together to fight for what should’ve already been obvious:

Stalking is real.
Control doesn’t require romance.
Violence doesn’t care about legal definitions.

As a result, Sandy’s Law was passed in Massachusetts in 2010, expanding the ability of stalking and sexual assault victims to obtain restraining orders even when no intimate relationship existed.

This was a major victory—not just for Massachusetts women, but for anyone whose safety has ever been threatened by a neighbor, co-worker, acquaintance, or stranger.

🧕🏾 A Reminder for This Generation

Some women believe they don’t “need” feminism anymore.
They say, “We have rights now.”
But those rights didn’t just appear.

They were earned.
Fought for.
And yes, sometimes bought with the lives of women who had no protection when they needed it most.

💡 Because of Sandy:

• Stalking laws were reformed

• The definition of “abuser” was expanded

• Survivors now have more options and more power to seek safety

• Another woman might live because of what Sandy went through

“The law didn’t protect Sandy. So her family and caring crew changed the law. Let her name be remembered as a turning point—not just a tragedy.”
– WeSurviveAbuse.com