SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Proposed changes to Missouri laws could give more protection to victims of domestic violence. 

For a woman whom we'll call Mary, life has been miserable because of stalking and emotional abuse.

"There were instances where he would follow me out to my house," Mary said.

The abuse continued after Mary filed an order of protection. 

"You never know when they're going to show up on your doorstep, when they're going to be at your place of employment and cause a scene," Mary said

Proposed changes in a report released this week would make Missouri laws tougher on offenders. 

"There are a lot of people excited about taking the recommendations in this report and turning them into law," said Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster.

"We absolutely commend the attorney general for his efforts to look at domestic violence laws," said Rodney Dwyer, executive director of Harmony House Family Violence Prevention Center in Springfield.

Some of the proposals include clarifying what protection order violations can result in arrest, allowing supervised probation for those convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors, and giving judges the ability to assess compliance with protection orders.

"I think if these recommendations were to be enacted, I think it will eliminate confusion across the system, I think officers will be more sure of enforcement, courts will be more certain about jurisdiction, and actually the victims themselves would be more sure about what protections are available to them," Dwyer said.

"I should have the right to carry on my normal day without having to worry about someone lurking around the corder of 50 threatening, horrible text messages on my phone every day," Mary said.