Issue

Despite New York City’s sustained success in decreasing crime generally, that same success has not been experienced in the area of domestic violence. In 2007, 4.8% of all major crimes in the City were related to domestic violence.  By 2017 that number had grown to over 11%. Domestic violence now accounts for 17% of all homicides and two in every five reported assaults citywide.

This is a troubling trend. Even more troubling is the larger universe of domestic abuse that goes unreported every year. A leading national study found that 5.4% of individuals over the age of 18 are the victims of rape, physical assault or stalking by an intimate partner annually. If this rate holds true in New York City, then nearly 352,000 New Yorkers are victimized by an intimate partner every year, substantially more than the number of intimate partner violence complaints made to police. This persistent and insidious threat requires that the City take a fresh look at how we can both hold abusers accountable and ensure that we are providing smart and effective pathways to safety for survivors.

Solutions

In November 2016, the City launched the NYC Domestic Violence Task Force to develop a citywide strategy to reduce domestic violence. By bringing together leaders from the domestic violence field, including experts from victim advocacy organizations, city agencies, community-based organizations, law enforcement, and nonprofits, the Task Force proposes innovative strategies to resolve the challenging and complex social problem of domestic violence through earlier identification of abuse, supportive intervention, and effective prevention.

Some of the solutions implemented by the Task Force to date include:

Create domestic violence programming at the Department of Probation: In an effort to increase the use of probation to reduce recidivism, the Queens Probation Domestic Violence Pilot was launched in December 2017. Under the guidance of specially trained Department of Probation staff, this pilot uses evidence-based risk assessments, individualized treatment plans, and responsive interventions to emphasize accountability and support to reform abusive behavior.

Enhance legal services for immigrant domestic violence survivors: Legal status should not be a barrier to services for immigrant domestic violence survivors. The City is working with Sanctuary for Families and Urban Justice Center to expand domestic violence-specific immigration legal services in communities with large, underserved immigrant populations and high levels of domestic violence. The focus is on providing legal assistance that meets victims’ linguistic and cultural needs.