Queens Borough President Melinda Katz (D) tomorrow is hosting a public workshop called the “Surviving Partner Violence and Abuse.”
The two-hour event, that the End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence (ENDGBV) organization is co-hosting, comes as October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
“Intimate partner violence and abuse are heinous crimes that have long-lasting impacts across communities,” said Katz. “In too many homes, families are robbed of their health and potential by their abusers. We must empower survivors with the strength to speak out, rise up and take back their lives.”
Cecile Noel, commissioner of the NYC Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence, said for survivors and their children, help is available. “From emergency housing to mental health counseling, to access to family and immigration legal services, the City of New York is committed to ensuring that survivors have access to support and inclusive services,” Noel said.
Guest speakers at the workshop include:
- Scott Kessler, chief of the domestic violence bureau of the Queens district attorney’s office.
- Sateesh Nori, an attorney in charge of the Legal Aid Society’s Queens Neighborhood Office.
- Tatyana V. Pena, licensed clinical social worker at the NYC Family Justice Center in Queens.
- Monroe Solomon, court programs manager who is responsible for overseeing LIFT’s (Legal Information for Families Today)
- Marissa Stranieri, Licensed Master Social Worker for the Sanctuary for Families Counselor, Children and Family Service.
- Carolien Hardenbol, Interim Immigration Supervisor at Urban Justice Center.
According to The New York State Domestic Violence Dashboard, a government database that has been published by the State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence (OPDV) and the state’s Domestic Violence Advisory Council for the past 10 years, “domestic violence disproportionately affects women and children.”
In New York, intimate partner homicides have increased by 22 percent from 2015 to 2016, according to the Dashboard. The increase stems from the rise of intimate partner homicides New York City, and the number of required order of protection reported by the state’s protective order registry reached a five-year high.
More than 400 New Yorkers in 2016 were taking advantage of the state’s program Address Confidentiality Program, a program allows victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking or other types of crime to receive mail at a confidential address. The program has resulted in more than 4,400 pieces of mail.
Although intimate partner homicides increased, the number of assaults where intimate partners were the victims decreased by 2 percent, which women were victims in 61 percent of those assaults.
In addition, the compensation disbursed to victims of domestic violence by the Office of Victim Services has increased 12 percent even though the number of claims paid has declined by 16 percent.
The workshop is slated for 10 a.m. to 12 noon, tomorrow, Oct. 12 at the Queens Justice Family Center, 126-02 82nd Avenue in Kew Gardens.
