The Mayor's Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence

Monthly Bulletin

May 2021

STAY CONNECTED:

Commissioner’s Message

Cecile Noel

This May has been a preview of the path forward. President Biden announced the American Families Plan on the heels of the American Rescue Plan he signed in March that would add funding for programs to protect survivors of gender-based violence and expand housing and food assistance.

During the month of May, we also mark Foster Care and Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month. We stand in solidarity with the AAPI community, to celebrate vital contributions to American history and declare that hate has no place in New York City. I encourage you to explore and share bystander intervention, conflict de-escalation, and harassment prevention trainings such as those provided by our partners at Hollaback!, which are grounded in their 5D’s methodology: Distract, Delegate, Document, Delay, and Direct.

WHAT’S NEW

An important step is to believe and support survivors as they need to be supported.

Join us on the next stop of Survivor Townhalls hosted across the five boroughs by ENDGBV’s Voices Committee and our local community partners, with our partners the Met Council, Sakhi for South Asian Women, Voices of Women, the Mount Sinai Sexual Assault & Violence Intervention Program (SAVI), RISE, Arab-American Family Support Center and Jahajee Sisters. Our next stop is a dialogue about mental health, managing home school, and accountability for abusive partners—in Queens, on May 20th.

Register online at bit.ly/QueensSurvivorTownHall2021

Governor Cuomo Extending Moratorium to Prevent Utility Companies from Disconnecting Utilities

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo recently signed legislation (S.1453-B/A.6225-A) extending a moratorium that prevents utility companies from disconnecting utilities to residential households and small businesses struggling with their bills due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The moratorium is extended for a period of 180 days after the COVID-19 state of emergency is lifted or 180 days after December 31, 2021, whichever is earlier. Utility companies must instead offer these customers a deferred payment agreement without fees or penalties on any past-due balance. This legislation will expand to cable and broadband internet service providers and additionally make the moratorium protections available to small businesses. Learn more

Resource Alert: Social Media Safety Guides

Check out the social media safety guides from Hollaback and HeartMob, available for Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Tumblr, and Youtube. They have collaborated with each platform to help people stay safer online, including sharing how to use each platform’s reporting and privacy tools. Learn more at buff.ly/2HLxotk

ENDGBV IN THE NEWS

Commissioner Noel talks to Cheryl Wills for In Focus NY1: “We pivoted to this online virtual model in which we are delivering counseling and helping with immigration issues and seeking orders of protection all virtually...we’ve been able to reach over 30,000 survivors this way.”

See the full clip on Twitter

Denim Day NYC spotlights sexual violence and what can be done to prevent it

See full story at NEWS12 BRONX

Opinion: Sexual assault survivors can heal together

See full story at the Queens Daily Eagle

COVID-19 UPDATES

Get the latest updates on COVID-19 in New York City, and keep up with the latest citywide service modifications on the City’s Agency Suspensions and Reductions page.

The NYC Family Justice Centers (FJCs) remain available by phone to offer survivors guidance on immediate safety planning, shelter assistance, legal consultations, counseling sessions, case management sessions, community resources, and more. Survivors can call the Center in their borough on Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.:

Brooklyn FJC: (718) 250-5113

Bronx FJC: (718) 508-1220

Manhattan FJC: (212) 602-2800

Queens FJC: (718) 575-4545

Staten Island FJC: (718) 697-4300

After hours and on weekends, survivors can:

Call the City's 24-hour Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-621-4673 (1-800-621-HOPE) or using TTY: 1-800-810-7444

Visit NYC HOPE (www.nyc.gov/NYCHOPE) for additional community resources and information.

The COVID-19 vaccine is now available to all New York residents, age 12 and older. People who live outside of the state but work or study in New York are also eligible to get vaccinated. People who are eligible based on employment include both paid and unpaid workers.

Note: People who are 17 years old and under are only eligible for the Pfizer vaccine.

Learn more and find a vaccine site location for eligible New Yorkers using the Vaccine Finder at https://vaccinefinder.nyc.gov or call: 1-877-VAX4NYC

Most City-run sites are now offering walk-up vaccinations for New Yorkers. Visit on.nyc.gov/walkupvax for walk-up vaccination sites where you do not need an appointment.

ICYMI

Impact Survey for GBV Survivors

Survivors of gender-based violence in NYC can now submit responses for ENDGBV’s anonymous survey gauging the impacts of COVID-19 on survivors. The survey is available in NYC Local Law languages, including English, Russian, Spanish, Arabic, Bangla, French, Haitian Creole, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Urdu, and simplified and traditional Chinese.

New ENDGBV Release: 2021 Survey and Convening Findings on Wellness from Domestic and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Service Providers During COVID-19

We recently released an overview of the impact of COVID-19 on the wellness of NYC’s GBV service providers and staff, and our response and support for them during the pandemic. Learn more

Resource Alert: From Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya, Artist

Those seeking to engage with more work by Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya, the artist behind the recent “May We Know Our Own Strength” installation in the Meatpacking District that transformed the accounts of survivors of sexual assault and gender-based violence into large, room-scale sculptures, check out her “We Are More” campaign, which has showcased from Lincoln Center to Times Square, to Boston. The art campaign is available online, along with a discussion guide that includes prompts to facilitate discussion and exploration of the AAPI experience, and links to further learning.

Get Covered, New York

NYC Care health coverage is available to all New Yorkers If you cannot afford or are not eligible for health insurance, you can enroll to access comprehensive and affordable primary, preventative, and specialized health care at NYC H+H hospitals. Call 646-NYC-CARE (646-692-2273) or visit a NYC H+H location to enroll.

The NYC Test & Trace Corps gets New Yorkers tested for COVID-19 and provides resources to those testing positive, including free temporary isolation housing at hotels for people who do not require medical care and are unable to isolate where they live. The Corps are committed to protecting the privacy and security of New Yorkers’ personal and health information to the maximum extent permitted by federal, state and city law. NYC H+H is also offering Express COVID testing that can provide results in 24 hours. Learn more about testing, or find out if you are in a COVID-19 zone

IN THE NEWS

44 Attorneys General Urge Facebook To Nix Instagram For Kids As They Warn Of Sexual Grooming, Bullying

See full story at FORBES

Biden administration announces reversal of Trump-era limits on protections for transgender people in health care

See full story at NBC News

Why Phone Companies Are Fighting Proposed Legislation That Would Make It Easier To Escape Domestic Violence

See full story at YOUR TANGO

Tarana Burke Is Just Trying to Do Her Work

See full story at THE CUT

The ‘Racialization’ of Sex Trafficking in America

See full story at THE CRIME REPORT

OPINION: How to help victims of sexual abuse get justice: Eliminate statute of limitations

See full story at USA TODAY

How NYPD’s Vice Unit Got Prostitution Policing All Wrong

See full story at PROPUBLICA

The Other Pandemic No One is Talking About

See full story at VOA NEWS

Domestic violence isn’t about just physical violence – and state laws are beginning to recognize that

See full story at The Conversation

Turkey: Women across the world demand reversal of decision to quit gender-based violence treaty

See full story at Amnesty International

Sex Ed Often Leaves Out Queer People. Here's What To Know

Read full story at NPR

Senators introduce bill to change how military sexual assault cases are prosecuted

See full story at CNN

What Abusive Partners, Corrupt Cops and Authoritarian Leaders Have in Common: A VICE News podcast about power and control

See full story at VICE

Disclaimer: We believe in the principles of open dialogue and considering varying perspectives. Viewpoints or opinions expressed in the content of this communication or in articles linked do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of the Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence, or the City of New York.

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The Office to Combat Domestic Violence (OCDV) is now the Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence. Find out more at www.nyc.gov/ENDGBV

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