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

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

Monthly Bulletin

March 2024

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MESSAGE FROM ENDGBV

In the month of March we celebrate the contributions and achievements of all women, while continuing to recognize their struggle for equality. People of all genders are impacted by domestic and gender-based violence (DV/GBV) and deserve assistance, however, women are overwhelmingly and disproportionately affected by these issues. Women's history is in many ways a story of resilience despite such violence, and it is a diverse story that is shared through every culture across the world. ENDGBV is proud to support women survivors living and working in NYC, as well as our women staff whose experiences help shape our care.

WHAT’S NEW

Women Forward NYC

On January 24, 2024 during the State of the City Address, Mayor Adams unveiled his initiative to improve economic opportunity, safety, and healthcare for women in New York City. Women Forward NYC is designed to be a holistic approach to prevalent issues for all women. By uniting the efforts of City Agencies and Offices as well as partnering with academic and private institutions, the project will address a wide variety of inequities with a combination of city funding, federal grants and private dollars. ENDGBV is looking forward to working with our city agency partners to continue providing as many resources as we can to the New Yorkers we serve.

Our Commissioner, Cecile Noel commends the plan and gave remarks in the press release "We cannot meaningfully achieve gender equity as long as women, transgender, and gender expansive New Yorkers continue to experience disproportionate rates of violence in and outside of the home. Recognizing this fact, the Women Forward NYC agenda deepens the city's investment in responses that meet the complex needs of survivors of domestic and gender-based violence, enhancing both interpersonal and public safety. We would like to thank all of our city agency collaborators for developing this initiative and we are grateful for the ongoing support of the Adams administration as we expand ENDGBV's work to support survivors."

ENDGBV and the NYPD pledge to reduce felony domestic violence assaults by 25%, and expand the HOME+ program, providing personal security devices and resources to keep survivors safe in their homes.

Learn more about this program in our Legislative Corner or by visiting women.nyc online.

Citywide Agency Response to Human Trafficking at Gracie Mansion

In recent years, the City has held meetings for City agency and community leaders to identify ways the City could improve its response to trafficking survivors and those involved in the sex trade. More work is needed to identify specific next steps to increase safety for those impacted.

In collaboration with Special Counsel Ama Dwimoh, ENDGBV held a one-day event at Gracie Mansion focused on the City's response to human trafficking. The assembly addressed many aspects of this issue, including the role that law enforcement, service providers, and community members can play in connecting those in need to resources and support, addressing the basic needs of survivors to end the cycle of trafficking, as well as the root causes, while holding traffickers and other harm doers accountable.

OCVS and ENDGBV Consolidation

Beginning in Fiscal Year 2024, ENDGBV and the Office of Crime Victims Services (OCVS) will be consolidating our portfolios of contracted victim service providers, creating a more streamlined process for both the survivors we are servicing as well as the organizations we partner with every day. Centralizing this process will enable ENDGBV to expand services for survivors and broaden its reach while minimizing bureaucratic overlap and ultimately allowing the City to meet survivors' needs more effectively.

Denim Day 2024

Every year for Sexual Violence Awareness Month on the last Wednesday of April, people across the world wear denim and rally to raise awareness about sexual violence. Last year on April 26th, ENDGBV held Denim Day 2023 along with the Denim Day NYC Coalition (a citywide coalition of survivors, advocates, community organizations, city council members, and city agencies working together to raise awareness about sexual assault).

This year will mark the 25th Anniversary of the first Denim Day organized in 1999. This was in response to a decision made by the Italian High Court in 1998 which resulted in the overturning of a rape conviction because the victim wore tight jeans. The judge concluded that the victim "must have helped her assailant remove her jeans" and therefore gave consent. In response, Italian women began protesting the ruling by wearing jeans at work, in parliament, and doing what they could to speak against this incredible injustice. People around the world shared in the outrage and joined the movement to act and demonstrate their solidarity with survivors in the face of victim blaming and a lack of accountability for those who choose to violate the sexual and bodily autonomy of others. The first Denim Day was organized a year later as an international protest march to support survivors of sexual violence that continues to this day.

In solidarity with victims and survivors, hundreds of supporters from over 20 city agencies and community organizations in New York City participate in citywide events, and scores of New Yorkers take to the streets on Denim Day for rallies and marches, including the annual Denim Day NYC March from Brooklyn Borough Hall over the Brooklyn Bridge to NYC's Foley Square.

Credit: Cristian Paez @paez.photo

Policy and Legislation Corner

Welcome to ENDGBV's first ever Policy and Legislation Corner! We felt it was important to provide regular updates about legislation and policy that impacts GBV survivors, as well as our community of advocates, service providers, and partners. This inaugural issue includes city legislation that codifies ENDGBV's housing stability program for survivors of domestic and gender-based violence, a new law that broadens the New York State criminal definition of rape, and the release of proposed guidelines for the federal victim compensation program.

City Legislative Highlights

ENDGBV's Home+ Program

On February 8, 2024, New York City Council voted to pass Int. 39-2024. This bill codifies ENDGBV's existing Home+ Program. Home+ contracts with community-based organizations to provide door, window and lock repairs; provide personal emergency response systems; connect survivors to services; and provide ongoing housing-related case management. This legislation and Home+ provide survivors and their families with alternatives to shelter, allowing them to stay safely in their homes with access to their support networks.

Women Forward NYC

On January 25, 2024, the Adams Administration announced Women Forward NYC, an action plan for gender equity that includes funding for new and existing city programs to address gender disparities. The action plan includes three policy areas: economic mobility, health, public safety and housing stability. The three primary public safety and housing goals intersect with ENDGBV's portfolio of work. These goals are: (1) reduce felony domestic violence assaults by 25%; (2) reduce homicides involving women victims by 30%; and (3) increase families with children exiting shelter into permanent housing by 25%.

State Legislative Highlights

"Rape is Rape" Bill Signed into Law

On January 30, 2024, Governor Hochul signed the "Rape is Rape" bill into law. This bill expands the state's criminal definition of rape by removing the penetration requirement and including oral sexual contact and anal sexual contact as forms of rape.

Fair Access to Victim Compensation Bill Signed into Law

On December 8, 2023, Governor Hochul signed the Fair Access to Victim Compensation bill into law. This law will remove the mandatory requirement that crime victims report their victimization to law enforcement and will allow the state to accept alternate forms of evidence to show that a crime was committed. This law will also expand the time for victims to file for compensation from one year to three years. This law will take effect on December 31, 2025.

Federal Legislative Highlights

Proposed Rulemaking: VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) Victim Compensation Grant Program

The Federal Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) released a notice of proposed rulemaking to update the Victim Compensation Guidelines. These guidelines have not been updated since 2001. Notably, the proposed guidelines clarify that states are not required to ask victims to provide evidence that they have cooperated with law enforcement or made a police report.

If you would like to submit a comment, you can go to https://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions. Comments on the proposed guidelines can be submitted until April 5, 2024.

Check in with us quarterly for more updates and information about evolving legislation related to domestic & gender-based violence.

Manhattan Family Justice Center Looks Back On 10 Years of Service

"As we celebrate 10 years we have seen many successes and have learned through experiences. We have had many wonderful partner staff that has shared their knowledge and have helped to shape the Manhattan Family Justice Center. We are grateful for all of those who have come to provide quality services to our clients and been helpful to our client's survivorship. Happy 10 years and many more!" – Indhira Castro, Deputy Director of the Manhattan Family Justice Center

March 13th, 2024 will mark a full decade since the Manhattan Family Justice Center (MFJC) opened it's doors to survivors across New York City. For 10 years, the MFJC has connected over 40,000 New Yorkers to our incredible providers in an understanding and empathetic environment centered around the care of survivors. By providing simple in-house services such as childcare during appointments, we continue to be at the forefront of what it means to assist those who have experienced domestic and gender-based violence.

ENDGBV is so thankful for all the MFJC staff and providers

, past and present, and inspired by their tireless efforts and continued compassion to the survivors who visit or call our centers every day.

JOIN THE ENDGBV TEAM

Now Accepting Applications

Full-time positions are now open with our ENDGBV team. To learn how you can apply online or share our openings with your networks, visit New York City's job bank at: https://www1.nyc.gov/jobs/index.page and search by Job ID number.

JOB OPENINGS

ID. NO.

Deputy Director, Staten Island Family Justice Center

625463

IN THE NEWS

Check out NYC Mayor Eric Adams' Video The New York City Way (August 2023)

Check out ENDGBV's recent media coverage by going to this link on our website. Below you will also see what we are reading!

2/10/24: In NYC, 2022 was a grim year for domestic violence homicide. Things have gotten worse.

2/6/24: Shandra's story: Woman from Indonesia recounts story of being sex trafficked in NYC, escape from captors.

NYC Stands with Asylum Seekers

ENDGBV Supports our Newest New Yorkers

ENDGBV is working with city agencies and service providers to support and respond to the needs of recently arrived migrants and asylum seekers experiencing domestic and gender-based violence (DV/GBV). ENDGBV coordinates with our partners to share important information and resources through education and training, develop accessible materials, and provide services and support through the Family Justice Centers and our partners.

Education and Training

ENDGBV has worked with city agencies including the Department of Homeless Services (DHS), Administration for Children Services (ACS), Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA), and Office of Asylum Seeker Operations (OASO) to provide trainings to both agency staff and contracted providers working at asylum sites across New York City. Trainings for staff include Introduction to Domestic and Gender-Based Violence, Trauma Responsive Practices, Human Trafficking, and Family Justice Centers and DV/GBV Resources. For shelter residents, ENDGBV Family Justice Center staff have facilitated Healthy Relationship workshops at Bronx DHS sites and are working with agencies and partners to respond to requests for resident workshops across the city.

Accessible Materials

ENDGBV has shared our materials with city agencies and providers for distribution across asylum sites to help ensure recently arrived migrants and asylum seekers have access to critical information and resources about domestic and gender-based violence. Our materials have also been translated into additional languages including Turkish, Wolof, Brazilian Portuguese, and Fula.

In response to concerns raised by city agencies and community-based organizations about sex and labor trafficking, we created new materials – the Stay Safe from Sex Trafficking one-pager and Know Your Rights Working in NYC one-pager – to help spread awareness about rights and potential risks. These one-pagers are accessible on our website and have been shared with city agencies, service providers, and our partners working with recently arrived migrants and asylum seekers.

Click the following link for all of ENDGBV's Outreach Materials:

https://www.nyc.gov/site/ocdv/programs/download-outreach-materials.page

Connections to Services

ENDGBV is partnering with Sanctuary for Families and Health + Hospitals to launch a tabling pilot at a Manhattan HERRC to connect DV/GBV survivors to immigration legal services, our FJCs, and community-based support services. We have also partnered with Sanctuary for Families and the Asylum Application Help Center to create an immigration legal services referral pathway for DV/GBV related cases. The NYC Family Justice Centers also connect survivors of DV/GBV and their children to a variety of free, safe, confidential services regardless of immigration status.

RESOURCES

Help is Available

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic or gender-based violence, help is available:

Find resources and support in NYC by searching NYC HOPE Resource Directory online at www.nyc.gov/NYCHOPE.

NYC Family Justice Centers offer immediate safety planning, shelter assistance, mental health support, and other resources by phone or in person. For in person services, clients can call 311 for their nearest Family Justice Center to make an appointment or visit if they cannot engage in remote services safely or effectively.

Call 311 to be connected to the nearest NYC Family Justice Center.

Call NYC’s 24-hour Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-621-HOPE (4673) for immediate safety planning, shelter assistance, and other resources, TTY: 866-604-5350.

In an emergency, dial 911.

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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