Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a groundbreaking bill Thursday that expands protections for victims of domestic violence.

It allows complaints to be filed with any police agency in the state, regardless of where it happened, expands the definition of domestic violence to include forms of economic abuse and gives displaced victims the right to vote by mail.

For Angela Rivera, of New City, the push to change domestic violence laws in Albany was personal. She told News 12 that her daughter was being assaulted by a man she was dating in Queens last year.

Rivera says she and her teenage daughter were turned away by local police in Rockland when they tried to file a report. They were told they would have to go back to Queens and file a complaint, despite her broken nose and Rockland residency.

"It made my daughter feel like any other victim would feel – like nobody cares and there's nothing to do."

Since then, Rivera fought alongside other domestic violence advocates to change the way victims are treated and cases are handled.

She says there is more work to do, including changing the way custody and divorce is handled in domestic violence cases.

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