Bill Text: NY J01540 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

New York Senate Resolution 1540

Introduced

Bill Title: Memorializing Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim October 2024, as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in the State of New York

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-01-17 - ADOPTED [J01540 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-J01540-Introduced.html


Senate Resolution No. 1540

BY: Senator PERSAUD

        MEMORIALIZING  Governor  Kathy  Hochul to proclaim
        October 2024, as Domestic Violence  Awareness  Month
        in the State of New York

  WHEREAS,  As  part  of  executing  its  mission,  the New York State
Coalition Against Domestic Violence seeks to eradicate domestic violence
and to ensure the provision of effective  and  appropriate  services  to
victims  of  domestic  violence  through  community outreach, education,
training, technical assistance and policy development; and

  WHEREAS, The Coalition's principles  and  practices  prioritize  the
safety  and  concerns  of  victims  who  are abused, provide support and
encouragement for the participation of victims who  are  abused  in  the
struggle  to eradicate personal and institutional violence against them,
and  provide  for  a  noncompetitive  atmosphere   that   fosters   open
communication,  respect, and cooperation among advocates and victims who
are abused; and

  WHEREAS,  Domestic  violence  consists  of  abusive   and   coercive
behaviors  that  one  person  uses  to  establish and maintain power and
control over another person in a relationship; and

  WHEREAS, Domestic violence can happen to anyone, and does happen  to
people  of  every  age,  race,  gender,  sexual  orientation, income and
occupation; and

  WHEREAS, Approximately one in four women and one in seven men in the
United States aged 18 and older will experience severe physical domestic
violence at some point in their lifetime; and

  WHEREAS, 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence
or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States - more  than  12
million women and men over the course of a year; and

  WHEREAS,  Domestic  violence victims experience a host of health and
mental health-related consequences  at  far  greater  rates  than  their
counterparts who have not been abused; and

  WHEREAS,  For  the  sixth  year  in  a  row,  New York State has the
greatest demand for domestic violence support services  in  the  country
with  approximately  7,000 survivors requesting services on just one day
in 2018; and

  WHEREAS, The NYS Office of Children  and  Family  Services  reported
that  over  53,000  survivors  of  domestic  violence and their children
received services from residential,  non-residential,  and  transitional
housing  programs  licensed by OCFS, and more than 213,000 hotline calls
were received by domestic violence programs across the  State  in  2018;
and

  WHEREAS,  The  economic  burden  of  domestic violence in the United
States is over $8.3 billion per year in direct medical costs and loss of
productivity; and


  WHEREAS, 15.5 million children in the United States live in families
in  which domestic violence occurred at least once in the past year, and
children who witness domestic  violence  suffer  many  adverse  outcomes
during their childhood that can extend into their adult years, including
chronic  disease, substance use and chemical dependency, dropping out of
school, and employment and relationship challenges; and

  WHEREAS, According to the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services,
there were 59 domestic homicides in New York State in 2017; and

  WHEREAS, The cost of a single homicide can range over $17.25 million
when considering  medical  care  costs,  lost  future  earnings,  public
program  costs,  property damage and losses, and quality of life losses;
and

  WHEREAS, Only approximately one-quarter of  all  physical  assaults,
one-fifth   of  all  rapes,  and  one-half  of  all  stalking  incidents
perpetrated against women by  intimate  partners  are  reported  to  the
police; and

  WHEREAS, Public health research has shown that the use of prevention
strategies  at multiple levels - from individual to communal to societal
- will lead to lasting social change; and

  WHEREAS, Prevention addresses the root causes  and  conditions  that
make  domestic  violence  possible, and primary prevention is focused on
establishing gender equality,  cultivating  healthy  relationships,  and
changing culture to stop domestic violence before it starts; and

  WHEREAS,  Primary  prevention education and awareness campaigns have
the potential to not only increase identification of  domestic  violence
and  the appropriate response from helping professionals and the public,
but when used in a primary prevention  framework,  can  also  act  as  a
catalyst  to  change  social  and community norms to promote healthy and
equitable behavior; now, therefore, be it

  RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its  deliberations  to
memorialize  Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim October 2024, as Domestic
Violence Awareness Month in the State of New York; and be it further

  RESOLVED, That copies of this  Resolution,  suitably  engrossed,  be
transmitted  to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New
York, and the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence.