July 2020
News & Updates
Volume 18 | Issue 7
A STATEMENT FROM NYSCADV
These resources address the ways we can, and must, engage with our communities and work to acknowledge the interconnectedness of all forms of oppression – racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, adultism, ableism, etc. – Challenging imbalances of power are key to creating a healthy and safe community, a community which views all of its members as valuable, ensures access to resources and opportunities and which views violence, including institutional violence, as intolerable and works in partnership and as allies to prevent it.

To visit the our Dismantling Oppression Toolkit, click here.

Do you have a resource to add? E-mail it to us at nyscadv@nyscadv.org
The Time Has Come for Us Stand Up Against Systemic Racism and Oppression

One month has passed since another Black man was needlessly and senselessly killed on the streets of his community by those whose very job it is to protect the public. There was no reason for George Floyd to die, or Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, New York’s Eric Garner, or the numerous others who remain un-named or whose stories never rose to the attention of the press. But each killing is a tragedy, a scar on what our country stands for.

NYSCADV issued a public statement to voice our outrage, our frustration, and our anger. We want you to know that we share your grief for the loss of these individuals’ lives and their futures. We remain resolute – resolute in our mission to march alongside domestic violence advocates, domestic violence survivors, domestic violence statewide coalitions, allies and stakeholders to address the institutionalized racism, oppression and discrimination embedded in our institutions and systems. We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, and our national, state, tribal, territorial and local partners. We commit to joining hands to end systemic racism everywhere. We must work together to dismantle the systems of oppression that enable all forms of violence to occur.

As a leader in the movement to end domestic violence, NYSCADV understands this is no easy task. We know that race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, immigration status, sexual orientation, class and/or disability-based oppressions do not act independent of one another. We know that racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, adultism, and ableism are interconnected. It permeates our institutions, our schools and universities, our health care facilities, our courts and criminal justice system, our government and our workplaces. It’s the reason why more people of color are arrested, why more people of color are incarcerated, why more people of color who say they are victimized or abused are not believed when they seek help from law enforcement, and why more people of color who are ill are unable to obtain health care. We must resolve to change all these forms of injustice and prejudice.

For more than 40 years, NYSCADV has been committed to pursuing anti-violence and anti-oppression work from an intersectional lens. We are re-doubling our efforts to ensure the principles of anti-oppression, accessibility, and intersectionality underlie everything we do. We will work harder to elevate the experiences and voices of survivors and those living at the margins. And, we join the National Network to End Domestic Violence in its commitment to “lift each other up, to embrace the transformational change that is needed, unite together to seek justice, and support ways to heal.”

Sincerely,

NYSCADV


NEW YORK STATE
MOVES QUICKLY TO IMPLEMENT
POLICE REFORM LAWS

New York State lawmakers approved several pieces of legislation that begins to address systemic discrimination that exists in our criminal justice and policing systems.
 



Here are just some of the key police reforms that have been signed into law:

  • Repeal of Section 50-A of the Civil Rights Law (A10611 O’Donnell/S8496 Bailey): Repeals a section of state law used by police departments to shield disciplinary records, and permits disclosure of law enforcement disciplinary records providing that sensitive information is redacted.

  • Eric Garner Anti-Chokehold Act (A6144B Mosely/S6670B Benjamin): Establishes the crime of aggravated strangulation for police officers or peace officers where such officer commits the crime of criminal obstruction or breathing or blood circulation, or uses a chokehold or similar restraint, and causes serious physical injury or death.

  • Prevent Misuse of 911 (A1531B Richardson/S8492 Parker): Amends the Civil Rights Law to prevent the misuse of 911 and other organizations that deal with emergencies by establishing civil penalties for summoning a police officer or peace officer when there is no reason to believe a crime or offense, or imminent threat to person or property, is occurring

  • Appointing NY’s Attorney General as Independent Prosecutor for Police Involved Deaths (A1601/S2574C): Establishes a special office within the AG’s office to investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute cases where the death of a person follows an encounter with a law enforcement officer. Also requires this new office to produce a report explaining the reasons for its decision regardless of whether it chooses to pursue charges.

Separately, Governor Cuomo issued an Executive Order titled the NYS Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative that requires local police agencies to develop a plan to reinvent and modernize police strategies and programs in their communities based on community input. Each police agency’s reform plan must address policies, procedures, practices and deployment, including but not limited to, use of force. All police agencies, including NYC, must adopt a plan by April 1, 2021, to be eligible for future state funding.
PREVENTION CORNER
“Because We’re Dads”  

The NYS Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NYSCADV) recognizes the impact fathers and father figures have on promoting social change with respect to human rights, gender equality, and healthy relationships as well as advancing health and wellness more broadly. 

To help to put a spotlight on the impact that fathers and father figures can have on the lives of their children, their families and their communities, NYSCADV announces the launch of the Because We’re Dads: Reaching and Mobilizing Fathers to Promote Gender Equality Initiative. 

Fathers are powerful influencers and play a significant role in the lives of their children. They have the opportunity, and are uniquely poised, to influence attitudes and behaviors, particularly with their sons, that support healthy and equitable relationships premised on respect, consent and nonviolence. To support community level engagement of fathers and father figures in efforts to prevent gender-based violence, NYSCADV is collecting, developing and compiling strategies gleaned from domestic violence programs across the NYS state and across the country. Our goal is to have a member-informed toolkit that will support programs to connect with fathers based on their relationship with their children, their knowledge of the issues and, perhaps most importantly, to connect fathers with resources that are not only easily accessible but also feel appropriate to them and consistent with their values and the values of their communities.  

Please consider joining us in this effort. Over the coming months, NYSCADV will be convening a working group to identify strategies that domestic violence programs and other community based programs have found successful when working with engaging fathers in similar efforts. 

Goals, Outcomes and Next Steps:
As part of our overarching goal to advance primary prevention and our collective work to shift the social norms that allow domestic violence, gender inequality, racism and all forms oppressive structures to thrive, NYSCADV continues to build our online Prevention Toolkit. With the invaluable help of our Prevention Consortium, the Because We’re Dad’s working group and our partner and lead consultant on this project, Rus Funk of the North American MenEngage Network, NYSCADV will be providing additional tools and resources via our online Prevention Toolkit as well as opportunities to participate in a statewide conversation about fathering and the role it plays in primary prevention of gender based violence and violence against women and girls. 

If you are interested in joining the Because We’re Dads working group, showcasing your programs successes with engaging men and contributing to this critical conversation to advance gender equality and prevent domestic and dating violence in New York State, please contact Lorien Castelle at lcastelle@nyscadv.org. 

You can learn more about the initiative by clicking here.
POLICY HIGHLIGHTS
NNEDV ADVOCACY DAY RECAP

 On June 9-10, 2020, NYSCADV joined DV coalitions and programs across the country to advocate for more funding for DV survivors and their families. This year’s virtual event enabled several local DV advocates to participate at meetings with staff from our two U.S. Senators’ offices, as well as 19 Congressional leaders from the NY delegation.
 
During our meetings, we advocated for the following:
 
  • Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA): Increase funding and eliminate matching fund requirements to allow programs in every state and U.S. territory to provide emergency shelter, housing, and services for survivors and their children. 

  • Culturally Specific Services Program for Survivors of Color: Provide funding for culturally specific programs to address the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on survivors from racial and ethnic minority communities (new program, administered by FVPSA Office). 

  • Victims of Crime Act (VOCA): Eliminate match requirements for VOCA grants and amend the law to include direct penalties and fines from federal deferred and non-prosecution agreements to be deposited into the Crime Victims Fund (CVF).

  • Violence Against Women Act (VAWA): Increase funding for the Sexual Assault Services Program, increase funding for the STOP formula grants to provide victim services in states, territories, and tribes, and increase funding for the VAWA Transitional Housing Program. 
 
These funding requests are incredibly important for NY’s survivors and service providers because New York relies almost exclusively on federal funding streams for NY’s DV services. To learn more about visit NNEDV's policy center by clicking here.
The New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NYSCADV), the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Prevent Child Abuse New York (PCANY), and the Seven Dancers Coalition released a joint press statement to encourage New Yorkers to support their friends, family members, or colleagues whenever they seek help.

As nonprofit organizations providing essential services related to domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse, our work is more important than ever during this pandemic when people are isolated due to respecting social distancing guidelines.

To read more and to find out how you can help, please click on the image above.
The story “Safe At Home, Not Stuck At Home” features a brother and sister in lockdown, no longer going to school, asking questions that many families all over the world are presented with now. This book can be a useful tool in a time when many parents and families are facing uncertainties in their homes and can possibly use this book as a resource to aid them.

100% of the proceeds of the purchase of this book will be donated to the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

To find out more and to purchase the book, please click on the image above.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
NYSCADV | www. nyscadv.org