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NYC Domestic Violence Task Force
NYC Domestic Violence Task Force
Recent News
On March 16, 2018, the New York City Domestic Violence Task Force (DVTF) organized a conference ("Safety, Accountability, and Support: Exploring Alternative Approaches to Intimate Partner Violence") to learn from people who are using restorative practices, and understand how these practices may be used to promote safety for victims of intimate partner violence and accountability for people who have harmed them.
Read the March 2018 Conference Summary
About DVTF
In November 2016, Mayor de Blasio launched the NYC Task Force on Domestic Violence, which is charged with developing a comprehensive citywide strategy to address one of the most urgent challenges facing our city. Even as violent crime has fallen across the five boroughs, domestic violence continues to plague New York families.
The Task Force addresses this troubling reality by pursuing four key goals:
- Prevent violence and abusive behavior before it begins.
The Task Force is charged with identifying ways to help young people – both those who have been exposed to abuse and those who have not – break the cycle of violence and develop healthy relationship skills before abuse begins. - Increase early reporting by victims.
We need to make it safer and easier for victims to report to service providers or law enforcement as soon as signs of abuse begin. - Improve response once the abuse comes to the attention of the criminal justice system. The Task Force develops strategies to make it easy and safe for survivors to partner with law enforcement, and help police and prosecutors investigate and prosecute cases.
- Create strategies for long-term violence reduction.
The Task Force is charged with identifying ways to prevent abusers from repeating abuse.
The Task Force consisted of experts from inside and outside of government, including service providers, lawyers, academics, law enforcement agencies, policy makers and survivors. In order to develop a comprehensive, citywide approach to domestic violence, the Task Force worked with other stakeholders to map the current landscape of domestic violence work in New York City. This effort included a review of relevant research and interviews with experts to identify the most innovative, effective and evidence-based best practices. We also conducted a survey to develop the first-ever citywide map of domestic violence investments and programming.
The Task Force was co-chaired by First Lady Chirlane McCray and Police Commissioner James O'Neill, and operated with guidance from the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice and the Mayor's Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence. It was established to reframe how New York City can respond to domestic violence. The Mayor praised it as "unique in its focus on bringing law enforcement and social services together to look with fresh eyes at how we can both hold abusers accountable and ensure that we are providing smart and effective pathways to safety for survivors."