Senate Resolution No. 218

BY: Senator PERSAUD

MEMORIALIZING Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim
October 2023, 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 2023, 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.