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City Council Holds
Oversight Hearing on Domestic Violence against Immigrant Women By Donna Lamb It’s hard to imagine anything worse than being a victim of domestic violence – unless it’s being an immigrant victim of domestic violence. In addition to all the problems experienced by US-born women, the abuse of immigrant women often include being forced to work illegally without a work permit, threats of being reported to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and deported, having one’s children removed from the country, and having important documents such as identification and passports hidden or destroyed. Seeing the importance of the topic in this "City of immigrants," the City Council held an oversight hearing, "How Can New York City Better Address Sexual and Domestic Violence Against Immigrant Women?" It was spearheaded by the Immigration Committee, chaired by Council Member Kendall Stewart, joined by the Women’s Issues Committee, Health Committee and Public Safety Committee, chaired respectively by Council Members Darlene Mealy, Joel Rivera and Peter Vallone Jr. "Immigrant women, especially those who are undocumented, are particularly vulnerable in abusive relationships, as they are more likely to be dependent on the men who abuse them," noted Stewart. "In turn, they are forced to remain in these relationships, often for financial reasons, as they cower in fear and take no legal action against their abusers because of the real fear of deportation and family breakups." Stewart went on to say that the committees want to ensure that there is a proper level of awareness, training and sensitivity in City agencies to these unique challenges in order to make sure that all New Yorkers are properly protected. "As lawmakers, we must keep ourselves informed so we can better hold the proper agencies accountable as we tackle domestic violence both as public health and criminal justice issues," he concluded. As was made clear at the hearing, domestic violence affects families from all socioeconomic backgrounds and does not discriminate by age, race, ethnicity, education, employment status, physical fitness, or marital status. It can also include physical, emotional, financial and sexual abuse. Last year alone the NYPD responded to over 230,000 domestic violence incidents – an average of over 600 incidents per day – and the City’s Domestic Violence Hotline (800-621-4673) answered almost 135,000 calls – an average of 370 calls per day. Those presenting testimony at the hearing included Yolanda B. Jimenez, commissioner of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence; Assistant Chief Kathy Ryan, commanding officer of the Domestic Violence Unit of the New York Police Department; Dr. Ramanathan Raju, executive vice president and corporate chief medical officer for the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC); and Sarah Ellis, director of Victim Services, Kings County District Attorney’s Office. Based on the extensive and detailed testimony presented by each of these officials, it was obvious that New York City is taking the problem of domestic and sexual violence against immigrant women very seriously and is attempting to overcome the barriers to victims asking for and receiving help. For instance, the City is working hard to establish culturally competent services in diverse languages, teach sensitivity to various cultural backgrounds, disseminate information on unique types of violence in immigrant communities and work with men in immigrant communities. The good news is that over the last seven years, the City has seen a 24 percent decrease in all family-related crimes and an 8 percent drop in family-related homicides. Female intimate partner homicides have decreased by almost 30 percent. Meanwhile, even with this very welcome progress, councilmembers sought to delve beyond the statistics and explore how domestic violence services are being provided to immigrant communities – things may look good on paper, but how well do they work in the field? For instance, Council Member Mealy cited an actual negative experience of a constituent who called a police precinct and could not get any help because no one spoke her language. Council Member Vallone pointed to the fact that when a women who appears battered comes to the hospital for treatment, although she may be asked the "right" questions to uncover whether she is a victim of domestic violence, it’s extremely hard to believe that immigrant women are always made to feel safe enough to tell the truth. Furthermore, Majority Whip Inez Dickens questioned whether there were sufficient services for emancipated youth and women with disabilities, while Council Member Mathieu Eugene inquired about what the agencies are doing to quantify and deal with more subtle forms of violence, such as intimidation and stalking. He also asked about the measures being taken to get the message out regarding what domestic violence can include and that it should not be tolerated in any form. A variety of community organizations that assist domestic violence victims and endeavor to end this crime also testified. Among them were: Dwa Fanm, Safe Horizons, New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault, Violence Intervention Program, Safe Homes Project, STEPS to End Family Violence and Sanctuary for Families. The City Council intends to continue drawing on their expertise to improve City services. *** Photo by Donna Lamb DomesticViolenceHearing City Council Chamber packed for oversight hearing on how the City can better address sexual and domestic violence against immigrant women
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Photos by Donna Lamb