CCC Recognizes International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women 2019

November 25 is International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, kicking off two weeks of international activism and awareness campaigns to combat gender-based violence. Forty years after the adoption of the United Nation’s Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, violence against women and girls remains widespread.

Last year, 24,592 victims of intimate partner domestic violence crimes were reported to the New York City Police Department. Of that total, more than 80 percent (20,215) identified as female. In recent years, the number of domestic violence incident reports, as well as reported domestic violence-related felony assaults and rapes, has increased. Taken together, more than 250,000 domestic violence complaints were registered by the NYPD in 2018, more than half of which occurred between intimate partners. These numbers are alarming, especially considering that incidents of domestic violence are often under-reported, by as much as 50% of the actual number.

The movements accompanying this day of action —like #NiUnaMenos in Latin America and #MeToo worldwide – are critical to centering the voices of survivors and expanding the public’s awareness and reckoning with all forms of gender-based violence.

Domestic violence causes incredible harm to survivors and can also have long-lasting effects on children who are exposed to violence at home. In our participatory research in Northern Manhattan, the North Shore of Staten Island, and Elmhurst/Corona, community members and service providers reported the multiple ways that domestic violence impacts well-being – from psychological health, to academic performance, to broader community health and safety.

Furthermore, we know that domestic violence is deeply intertwined with the crisis of family homelessness in New York City: last year, domestic violence was the number one reason cited for entering shelter among families with children.

In the last five years, the share of families entering shelter due to domestic violence has increased dramatically — up to 41% in FY 2018

Source: NYC Comptroller’s Office analysis of DHS data

Beyond New York, CCC is encouraged by expanded efforts across the nation to track and compile statistics on domestic violence and gender-based violence. This includes the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s (NCADV) consistent monitoring of statewide trends, to local integrated data systems like the Domestic Violence Dashboard of Marion County, Indiana – all of which help provide a more complete picture of the prevalence and impact of gender-based violence.

It is also important to recognize the violence that is disproportionately experienced by transgender and gender non-conforming people, which has reached an ‘epidemic’ according to the American Medical Association. The Human Rights Campaign has accounted for 22 violent killings of transgender or gender non-conforming individuals this year, and this doesn’t include the tragic death of Layleen Polanco while she was incarcerated on Rikers Island.

In the spirit of these campaigns to raise awareness through data, CCC is committed to collecting facts and information to highlight how domestic and gender-based violence affects child and family well-being across NYC. That’s why we published the latest statistics on our database, data.cccnewyork.org, to keep track of domestic violence incident reports, domestic felony assaults, and domestic rape offenses between intimate partners and family members.

CCC strives to support all movements and campaigns that keep children safe, including ending violence and discrimination against women, girls, and transgender and gender non-conforming children and youth.