New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Holds Roundtable To Bolster Protections For Domestic Violence Victims

2 days ago

Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) holds a roundtable to bolster protections for domestic violence victims.

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00:00brought and its likelihood of success versus dismissal in light of changes that happened

00:06that were well intended and important to do but now need some refinement in our discovery

00:10laws.

00:11And so this will, this conversation will help shape some of that conversation as we head

00:16into our budget negotiations, but I think many of you know this is a personal issue

00:21for me.

00:22My mother had to endure seeing, you know, what happened to her own mother before her

00:28father walked out, but it was a very angry, violent childhood and more emotional abuse

00:34than physical, but it took its toll on my mother as a little girl who watched her own

00:40mother suffer at the hands of a man who was supposed to love her, breaking down the compact

00:46that you have between a married couple of trust and love, and it was just nonexistent

00:50from my mother's childhood.

00:52So that really steeled her with the knowledge I have to do something about this.

00:55Other children may end up seeking people who are equally abusive.

01:02There's a history of this.

01:03When children see a way of behavior, they think that that is the norm.

01:07My mother broke out of that with her strength and courage and became a champion for victims

01:11of domestic violence, helping found the very first office and coalition for victims of

01:17domestic violence back in Buffalo, helping found Haven House along with a lot of others

01:22who created the first shelter for victims of domestic violence and then founded her

01:27own with my family years later.

01:29So this is a personal journey to me, but also my mother spent a lot of time in court with

01:33victims, and I saw through her eyes what it takes for someone to have the courage to stand

01:38up and to accuse someone who perhaps committed to love them in marriage or in a relationship,

01:47have to say to them, I'm going to stand up against you and make sure that there are consequences.

01:51That takes an extraordinary amount of courage.

01:54And when they get to that point and are willing to put themselves out there in such a profound

01:57way, danger to themselves, and then to see a result that they just walk out of the courtroom

02:03in disbelief and say, how could this have happened?

02:06We need to deal with that.

02:07And I know you have so many thoughts on this, and I do want to thank all of you for joining

02:12here.

02:13Beacon, start us off, and then as we go around and hear your comments, we'll allow you to

02:17introduce yourselves, too.

02:18But we also have Mary Pat Donnelly is our incoming president-elect of the New York

02:22State District Attorneys Association.

02:25Mike McMahon is the current right now, but incoming, that's really important to hear

02:28her voice as well.

02:29So, Bea Hanson, our director, thank you for hosting us here today and leading this conversation.

02:35So thank you.

02:37Thank you, Governor Hochul.

02:39You have just such a deep commitment to domestic violence and reducing crime across the great

02:44state of New York.

02:45So thank you for your leadership.

02:48I know you recognize that crime has a lasting impact on victims and their families, and

02:53that's really why we are here today.

02:55We're here as survivors of violence, prosecutors and service providers who see that lasting

03:01impact of domestic violence each and every day.

03:05And we know that the effects of violence are intergenerational, and they can really lead

03:10to years of trauma that impacts people's health, their jobs, their relationships, and their

03:15children.

03:17As the governor, you've invested in model interventions that are giving communities

03:21new tools to help them improve public safety, and this is very revolutionary, I think, in

03:27terms of having these additional tools and respond more effectively to domestic violence.

03:33You've also provided record levels of funding to support victims of crime, and OVS has been

03:38a critical part of that support system.

03:41And I know that the more than 200 victim service providers that we fund from law enforcement,

03:48prosecutors' offices, and community-based organizations across the state really appreciate

03:53the funding that we've been able to provide.

03:56These programs provide services that meet the specific needs of victims, where they

03:59live, and OVS also provides compensation to victims to help them get the support and services

04:04that they need to heal without having to pay for it themselves.

04:09And thanks to the governor's office and her visionary leadership, we've been able to allocate

04:12the largest amount of funding ever for our OVS funding.

04:17So our new three-year grant cycle that starts October 1st will have the largest amount of

04:22funding we've ever had before, so we're very excited about that.

04:27And today's roundtable, it's really an extension of that commitment to public safety, and I'm

04:32really glad that all of you are here today.

04:34Our goal is really to ensure that the criminal justice system is fair to all parties, and

04:39it does so in a way that preserves the safety to survivors of domestic violence.

04:44So very excited to be here with all of you.

04:46I wanted to pass it over to District Attorney Donnelly for a few words as well.

04:53I'll just reiterate.

04:54Thank you, Governor, for investing in domestic violence as a component of public safety.

04:59As a prosecutor, we recognize the unique challenges, obviously, that go into a domestic violence

05:04prosecution.

05:05It's not just getting a victim to feel comfortable cooperating with a prosecutor.

05:09We need to make sure that we have the big picture in a lot of these victims that we

05:14see, unfortunately, with different abusers as time goes forward, and again, the intergenerational

05:20is something that we can definitely see in Rensselaer County.

05:23So the ability to have a multidisciplinary approach, the ability to have someone to support

05:28the prosecutor to say, we understand your financial burdens, we understand your child

05:33care burdens, we understand everything that goes into walking away from a dangerous, potentially

05:39deadly relationship.

05:40So the funding that you're providing to our offices is going to make such a difference

05:45in allowing us to focus on doing our jobs, evidence-based prosecution, and making sure

05:50we have success so that these victims know New York cares about them and is going to

05:57shuttle them through this terrible time in their life.

05:59So thank you.

06:02I'll turn it back over to Bea.

06:03Thanks.

06:04Thanks.

06:13I'll just wait a couple minutes to press leaves and then we'll get started.

06:32I didn't get started.

06:41Yeah, I think it started.

06:50Okay.

06:51So, I know we've got a very short window here, you know, a short window of time.

07:00So we've all talked, I've talked to each of you.

07:02I think we'll try to make conversation brief but focused on...

07:30Okay.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Holds Roundtable To Bolster Protections For Domestic Violence Victims

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