More People to Listen: New Report Identifies Legal and Social Service Needs of Low-Income Bronx Communities Affected by Intimate Partner Violence

September 30, 2016, BRONX, N.Y.— The Bronx Domestic Violence Roundtable and Bronx Legal Services (a program of Legal Services NYC) today announced the release of a new report entitled “More People to Listen: Legal and Social Service Needs of Bronx Communities Affected by Intimate Partner Violence.” The report will help to inform policy decisions and funding allocations, and to guide elected officials and stakeholders with the expressed needs of the most vulnerable members of the Bronx community. Its findings, including recommendations from both advocates and community members, were presented as part of a Domestic Violence Roundtable Symposium held this morning at Hostos Community College.

 Press coverage: BronxNet,  Bronx Times, Mott Haven Herald, NYNMedia.com

Click here to read the report (English) (Spanish) (French—Executive Summary)

Intimate partner violence (IPV) in the Bronx is staggering. In 2015, 75,299 domestic violence reports were recorded in the Bronx, and the borough had the highest number of intimate partner homicides in New York City. In response to this crisis, in 2015 and 2016 the Bronx Domestic Violence Roundtable and Bronx Legal Services conducted a comprehensive legal and social service needs assessment of Bronx communities affected by IPV. The needs assessment included a detailed community survey, translated into Spanish and French and distributed online and on paper, and twenty in-person interviews with Bronx residents and advocates, covering a wide range of topics.
 
Several recurring themes and patterns emerged during the assessment:

• People primarily seek help through informal systems or do not seek help at all, oftentimes because formal systems are insufficient or inattentive to their needs.
• Access to affordable housing and stable sources of income are the greatest needs.
• Immigration status has profound consequences for people who live in fear of deportation and indefinite separation from their families.
• People with limited English proficiency who experience abuse are gravely isolated and mistreated.
• People with mental and physical disabilities face additional barriers to accessing formal or informal help when impacted by violence.
• People want community organizations, public officials, and funders to work together, to know what resources exist, and to help them navigate complicated and unintuitive systems.

The resulting report centers the voices of women, LGBTQ people, immigrants, people of color, speakers of languages other than English, and other marginalized groups deeply affected by IPV in the Bronx.
 
“Listening to people affected by intimate partner violence in the Bronx and expanding the resources here in a way that is much more aligned with what people want was our sole motivation with this report and symposium,” said Terry Lawson, Staff Attorney at Bronx Legal Services and a primary author of the report. “Taking time to listen instead of dictate makes us all better, and by doing so we hope to shift the paradigm of service provision in the Bronx.”
 
“We started the Bronx DV Roundtable in 2014 because we wanted to bring groups together to brainstorm the best strategies for engaging Bronx residents affected by violence,” said NYC Councilmember Vanessa Gibson. “We are thrilled to see how much progress the Bronx DV Roundtable has made, with this needs assessment and report, and we look forward to continuing this very important work together.”
 
“This report makes clear and gives further evidence to the fact that Bronx communities need greater resources, particularly to help victims and survivors of intimate partner violence. Domestic violence continues to be a silent crime and with better policies, legal resources and advocacy work we can begin to address it. I look forward to a continued partnership with the Bronx Domestic Violence Roundtable so that this issue is highlighted and tackled,” said NYC Councilmember Ritchie Torres.
The Bronx Domestic Violence Roundtable is comprised of New York City Councilmembers, government officials, legal services organizations, social services organizations, and anti-violence advocates.
 
Bronx Legal Services is a program of Legal Services NYC, which fights poverty and seeks racial, social, and economic justice for low-income New Yorkers. For nearly 50 years, LSNYC has challenged systemic injustice and helped clients meet basic needs for housing, access to high-quality education, health care, family stability, and income and economic security. Our neighborhood-based offices and outreach sites across all five boroughs help more than 80,000 New Yorkers annually.
 
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Contact: Kate Whalen, 646-442-3654, kwhalen (at) legalservicesnyc.org