I think the managing director should make a commitment to get this done, and we will request of her to do that. ROBERTA HACKER: Okay. I'd like to skip, then, to the next issue. That's on record now, right? That's done. Okay. The other is --
That's what these hearings are for. ROBERTA HACKER: Yes. I'm not going to hold my breath, though. All right?
No. I'm telling you, it took us two years to get the Special Victims Center done and so on, but I can promise you, this will get done. ROBERTA HACKER: Thank you. The other --
I'm not going anywhere, and he's not going anywhere. We'll get it done. ROBERTA HACKER: The other matter you heard talked about today, and you'll continue to hear about it, is some type of coordinated community response to domestic violence in Philadelphia. 110 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 We've worked on this. I personally have been working on this issue for close to years. 4 When I first came to this position at 5 Women in Transition, nobody talked to anybody. We 6 all were isolated and alone. We had been struggling 7 for a number of years to develop the concept of a 8 coordinated community service. We would like to see 9 the City of Philadelphia absolutely endorse and 10 support and promote the ability for the domestic 11 violence programs to work in concert with the other 12 systems in this city so that we can figure out how 13 we can most effectively and efficiently serve 14 battered women and their children. And that is not 15 that much of a difficult thing to do, nor is it that 16 costly. The other area I want to talk about is the work that we've been doing with the Philadelphia Women's Death Review team. I have included in your material a little color map, and this map shows deaths of women between 15 and 60 years of age between 1997 and 2000. And each red dot on this map indicates a woman who has been killed and where we know that domestic violence has been in her life, and it does include -- 111 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613
How many dots do you have? ROBERTA HACKER: 94, over 1997 to 2000. Everybody has that.
In a five-year period, that '94 to -- ROBERTA HACKER: '97 to 2000. CAROL TRACY: Three years.
Three years. ROBERTA HACKER: Yes. And that's the result of the team being able to identify afterwards, after the fact, that there was domestic violence in the lives of these women. So they may not have all been domestic violence homicides per se, but the violence in the lives of women in Philadelphia.
It's safer flying over Iraq. No plane has been shot down yet, but it's a much safer to fly over Iraq than to be living here in Philadelphia. It's a safer job, to fly an F-16 over a war area and not get killed, than in Philadelphia where in a three-year period we got 97 women dead. Go ahead. 112 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 ROBERTA HACKER: Yes. And their children, by the way. And when we were speaking about homeless shelters, I recall a domestic homicide about two years ago that occurred on Christmas day right in front of the Eliza Shirley Shelter. A batterer came and brutally stabbed his partner to death on the street on Christmas day. And these things happen, as Carol has said, every day. So I would look to this Council for continued support, if not increased support, for the continuation of the Death Review team. It's a collaboration between Women in Transition, Philadelphia Health Management Corporation, the Department of Health and the district attorney's office. And we review -- and we're the only review team of this type in the country that looks at the full spectrum of violence in the lives of women. Thank you. ANA LISA YODER: Good afternoon. My name is Ana Lisa Yoder and I'm the program director of the Bilingual Domestic Violence Project of the Lutheran Settlement House. And Lutheran Settlement House is a large social service organization located 113 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 in the lower eastern part of North Philadelphia. I'm going to talk just a little bit about our services briefly.
I know your services. I adopted my little princess through that, one of the services. ANA LISA YODER: Wonderful. So --
Tell me what -- because we have other folks that are going to be testifying, and I want to get and paint the picture that we're talking about here. ANA LISA YODER: What I'd like to start with actually, then, is talking about a client who came to our services, because I think it highlights some of the issues and needs within the systems in Philadelphia. Because we're part of a larger social service agency, clients connect to our program in a lot of different ways, and so they're able to access a variety of resources. So to illustrate this, I'd like to talk about a client who came to us through 114 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 the Lutheran Settlement House's community education program. And I've changed the name of the client in order to protect her confidentiality. I'll call her Lisette. And she started attending GED classes at Lutheran Settlement House and was living with an abusive partner who locked her in the house when he left in the morning for work. She had to sneak out of a small basement window in order to attend her classes, and carefully return home before her husband returned from work. When she told her GED teacher about her situation, they connected her with a counselor from the Bilingual Domestic Violence Project, who provided support, resources and information. Through our services, she received support of counseling in a non-judgmental atmosphere that allowed her to begin assessing her situation, eventually leading her to consider leaving her abusive relationship. She was terrified to call the police, but when she finally did one day after he attempted to choke her, the responding officer told her husband to take a walk and cool off, and not seeing any visible wounds, allowed him to stay in the 115 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 house. After this incident, the physical abuse intensified. With the support of her counselors, she was able to make plans to --
He did not direct her to go to court? ANA LISA YODER: I'm sorry?
He did not direct her to go get a petition? ANA LISA YODER: I believe they did, yes, but nothing else beyond that was done. And she actually was not in a space where she was able to -- was ready to get a PFA. She felt like it would make it more dangerous for her. So after this incident, the physical abuse intensified. With the support of her counselor, she was able to make plans to safely leave her abusive relationship and was able to get her GED, get a job so that she could support herself independently. Each woman's story is unique, yet Lisette's story highlights some common themes in the lives of battered women, including lack of resources and insufficient responses by the systems that could 116 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 be helping. There are a myriad of other stories of women who never reach a domestic violence agency and who, for a variety of reasons, are unable to escape from abusive relationships. The systems in Philadelphia with which victims of domestic violence come into contact all play an important role in the lives of battered women. They are in a unique position to connect them with community-based resources and let them know about available options.
Did she ever enter the city social service system, DHS and so forth? ANA LISA YODER: No, not DHS. She was involved with our services. That was the only service she was getting at the time.
Do you retain her or do you usually refer women to DHS? ANA LISA YODER: We would if there are any cases related to -- like if there are children in the home and there would be children who are in danger, then we are mandated to report to DHS. So in that case, we would. In this case, that was not the case, so we did not refer her to DHS. 117 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613
So there have to be children in the home for you to refer it to DHS? ANA LISA YODER: Right. That's right. Well, DHS would deal with the cases where there is neglect and abuse ongoing, and so those are the cases that we would report to DHS. But we did see her ongoing in individual counseling for a while until she was finally able to leave her relationship. So I'd like to really focus on one of the systems that plays an extremely important role in the lives of the women that we see, and I'm talking about the Philadelphia Police Department and particularly the units known as the Domestic Abuse Response teams or the DOM units. These units were created in order to provide specially trained detectives who could focus specifically on cases of domestic violence. And I want to be clear as I begin these remarks that as domestic violence agencies, we're not here to criticize the work of individual officers. And, in fact, as we go about our work of crisis counseling and legal advocacy, we're often assisted and supported by officers who are carrying out their 118 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 duties in an admirable fashion. Rather, these comments have to do with the structure of the DOM units as they currently exist and some systemic problems that, in our experience, make it difficult for DOM detectives to perform the job they were originally assigned to do. I will first highlight some problems in the context of a specific project for which both Lutheran and the Philadelphia Police Department received funding. I will then discuss how a lack of clear stricture and priorities for the units likely create confusion throughout the city and why it is crucial that the Department consider improvement in service provision to victims that could potentially occur if the DOM units were more thoughtfully structured and the detectives better trained. In addition to our relationship with officers in the court and in crisis situations for women who call our hotlines, Lutheran's bilingual domestic violence project, along with the Women Organized Against Rape and Congreso, participate in a special project with DOM detectives in the 24th, 25th and 26th Police Districts. This project known as the STOP Project was designed to provide a 119 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 special coordinated multi-disciplinary response to Latino victims of domestic violence and sexual assaults in these districts, which traditionally have been underserved. All four agencies receive funding from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. As a part of this project, a bilingual and bicultural advocate from our agency is assigned in Courtroom 906, and strives to work closely with the DOM unit in the East division. This advocate is available to offer counseling and legal advocacy services to victims of domestic violence in Courtroom 906 where preliminary hearings are held in cases of domestic violence.
But this only is a service provided to all or to individuals that live only in the area of Lutheran and Congreso? ANA LISA YODER: We provide services to women all over the city, actually, but this specific project is really targeted towards women who live in the 24th, 25th and 26th Districts.
Have you or any of 120 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 the other speakers here today ever convened a meeting of the women in government? When we started to talk about domestic violence in my first term running back in 1968, I understood there were very few women in government, but Estelle Richman is in charge of the police department. You know, she's over the commissioner. Joyce Wilkerson is the mayor's chief of staff. Alba Martinez is head of the Health Department. There are other women that are at top levels in the government. Has there ever been the thought of convening a meeting of women in government? Because I'm -- it's outrageous that the small cost of an 800 line or proper shelter activities or other support services are so rare today while literally hundreds of millions of dollars are appearing in campaign funding, appearing in spending for stadiums for rich people to turn from millionaires into billionaires. And for people at this stage and women who have reached the level that women apparently have reached at least by positions not to be effective to bring about major changes is an appalling thought. So I wonder what can we do to help utilize the fact that there is a vast difference in 121 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 status of the role of women in government now than there was when I first entered Council back in 1968, yet I find the same tone of indifference seems to exist, that this is only a small little problem, when I think it's a real major problem. It tells us about the quality of life in Philadelphia. It tells us about how government cares or doesn't care about people. Carol, could I interrupt to ask you? I know you've been working in this area for a long time. What's your assessment? CAROL TRACY: We have asked Estelle Richman, and she has promised us that she would put together a domestic violence task force to coordinate all of these issues. It hasn't happened yet, and I don't know if she's coming tomorrow to testify or not. I think the commitment is there, and I don't think that it's actually happened yet. Alba Martinez is a person who is actually uniquely qualified to work with us, because she once, when she was a CLS lawyer, represented battered women. And the issues that Roberta was talking about, the connection between child welfare and domestic violence, is quite apparent. Both 122 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 co-existent homes. It is our hope and our anticipation that when this task force is established, that she will be a key player in it. We have talked to Joyce Wilkerson about these hearings. She helped facilitate moving along, I think, the approval of the testimony. We have not convened a meeting of senior women in government, and in some respects, I have to say it is a little disappointing that senior women in government have not convened themselves to really address this issue head on. But I think we are positioning ourselves now to make that happen. Your help, of course, is appreciated.
Well, we would hope so, because I just feel, and I know Councilman Ortiz feels the same way, and there are a number of us in Council, we just wonder how long will people continue to be quiet in the face of the huge expenditures for public relations contracts in all kinds of fields and the abatements we give to developers to earn profits. I'm not attacking them. I'm just saying there seems to be a disproportionate use of common resources. 123 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 And you have the power, as I look around this room, I think you have an enormous amount of power if you began insisting and not being so polite and not being so -- well, I don't know what word to use. I just think you've got to make demands on government, because government's responsibility is owed to you. I think it's just terrible that in 2002, almost 2003, we're talking about whether we can achieve money for an 800 line, when lives are at stake and when the quality of life in Philadelphia is so much at stake. CAROL TRACY: And thank you for those comments, because I think we agree with you. I also think that particularly the providers have been so overwhelmed and overburdened by service needs, that it's taken a little bit of time to get us to this point so say enough. We really are in the place of, I hope, demanding more. We found, of course, working through this Committee one of the most useful vehicles to get information on the table to bring people here. They know that you control their purse strings.
But they're willing to come. I did invite the police commissioner for 124 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 today and -- CAROL TRACY: We don't see him yet, do we?
I hope that the police commissioner has had some emergency and hopefully that emergency will be over by tomorrow afternoon and he might -- he will be here. CAROL TRACY: Yes.
-- but I sit here, I see the wonderful talent in front of us at this hearing. I know you're all very concerned. I know it's a major problem, because it's been in part of my council life for many, many years, and yet if -- I think you've got to look at government as a major corporation, same kind of corporation that's interested only in money, because the emphasis in government today still is -- we hope it begins to change -- is still in the direction of, Let's take care of economic developers, and gradually it will trickle down somehow or other to other services. 125 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 I think we've got to fight back for the fact that the main responsibility of government is to deal with these human problems. And they're very severe human problems, and you've got the resources to do it. And if you decide on any kind of militant action, I think you can be sure that at least two Council members will be present. I expect there may well be many more than that. Because it's outrageous that Philadelphia should be at the bottom line for things like campaign financing, on things like human services in which -- with the kind of people we have in Philadelphia, the issue, the first issue, ought to be responsibilities of government toward the people in the city, the people who live in the city, the people who have human problems. And you're a wonderful group that can do that. I'm being advised that Commissioner Martinez and some others are going to give closing remarks. But I'm really not interested in closing remarks. I'm interested in action. I think Philadelphia ought to be the number -- with the talent of women in government that we have, the level of that development that's occurred in Philadelphia, I think we ought to be number one in 126 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 the nation of providing human services. And I'd like to see movements take place in the community. And you're the community in this area. I'd like to see those movements take place which demand that Philadelphia ought to be the model city that develops the programs to put an end to this kind of saving pennies at the cost of human lives, because that's what I see. And any woman saved from a life of domestic violence is a tremendous attribute to society, to avoid that waste of human life.
Like I said, a couple of cuts in consulting contracts will do the job.
Or if you can get one contributor in the Sunday Inquirer, which carried a list of the hundred major finance contributors to the mayor's last election campaign, if you get any one of those contributors just to make that contribution aimed at services to the community, it would probably be ten time the budget we're talking about totally for human services. ANA LISA YODER: I guess I just want to --
Excuse me, Councilman. 127 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613
No. Sir, you can go ahead and speak the truth. ANA LISA YODER: I think -- I just want to sort of reiterate what Cynthia said before and also what Carol mentioned, and, that is, that I think these agencies -- we have been as agencies really doing a lot of systems advocacy work --
But I think what David is talking about is that the problem -- and I have to admit, you know, when Carol and Terry and other folks --
-- started talking to me about it, it really was shocking. And then when the information starts coming in front of you -- and when you have the leadership of the court system sitting on that witness stand and they put forward the numbers that they put forward, the enormity of it then comes into view in such a realistic way. And then the responses that we have are so inadequate and really don't even begin to cover the tip of the iceberg. And when we have a problem -- and I 128 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 didn't know about an 800 line, I mean a $900,000 investment. We talk about having services available in the court system. We have one shelter for a problem that needs many more, and we send people and women and families to a homeless shelter when they don't need a homeless shelter; they need a certain home that has social services and counseling and therapy so that they can begin to put their lives in line. And if this was just three or four individuals, then you would say -- but when you get in one district, you begin to get 20,000 calls in just one district alone in the area of Philadelphia and you then have four social service agencies that service the problem, when none in West Philadelphia, Southwest or the Northwest of the city, then you have a crises. And it's the duty of government to respond to a crises. And we don't have a government that views this as a crisis. We don't have an administration that sees this as crisis. And it is. It's a budget of crisis, as much a crisis as if we had -- you know, because we react with much more passion and intensity when business people come here and complain about a hundred beggers out in the 129 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 street. And it seems that we mobilize legislative resources and a huge amount of passion to then deal with the problem of a hundred beggers. We don't deal with the issue of why those beggers are there, but we deal with the issue of getting rid of them immediately. But we get 15,000 women going to court, domestic court, and it seems that we don't have the same sort of passion and urgency. And urgency is the word that I think is definitive of what we should be doing as a legislative body and as an administration. And I believe every government official has to come and be here and speak their peace as to how we're going to change the system. That's why Sylvester Johnson, the commissioner, will be here tomorrow. ANA LISA YODER: I'm going to just continue. I was talking about the domestic violence units, the DOM units in the police district. I'm going to skip some pieces here to move along, but the main point that I'd like to make is just that the DOM detectives are potentially in a good position to be a part of a coordinated community response to domestic violence among the police, 130 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 victims service agencies in the district attorney's office, but they don't appear to operate according to any cohesive internal structure or directive. Unlike the Special Victims Unit, the DOM abuse response teams are decentralized and they're broken down into nine divisions throughout the city. Our experience with the DOM detectives is that many of them spend the bulk of their time attempting to obtain victim statements. Although it is important to get accurate information from victims, it should not be the detectives' sole focus. They should have enough time to connect women with important resources, participate in case review and to routinely do more in-depth investigations.
Well, they're not trained for that. ANA LISA YODER: That's part of the issue.
They're not trained for that. ANA LISA YODER: That's one of the things I definitely want to highlight. And I think some of the detectives do see their role more comprehensively than others. 131 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 We've had women from some divisions who have reported to us that the detectives have actually assisted them in obtaining a restraining order, and then we've actually heard other women say that they've not even been offered the most basic information about the services that are available to victims. So it really varies. Our experience is that it -- women's experiences with the detectives vary from division to division. And we are in --
I think the detectives and the average police person, if they're trained for it, I think they'll perform the service. I think what happens in many instances is that you're overwhelmed with the situation. You don't know what it is that you're supposed to do, because you've been trained to catch thieves and robbers and drug dealers and so on, and you have a family in turmoil. And it is very difficult for people to understand how to deal with that problem. ANA LISA YODER: And part of the problem is that we are actually unclear about how much training the DOM unit detectives get related to domestic violence specifically. And, of course, as 132 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 you said, due to the nature of the cases seen by DOM detectives, it's imperative that they receive intensive training regarding the nature of domestic violence. Without that training, there's no 6 guarantee that detectives are going to respond to victims with sensitivity and understanding of the issues faced by the women who are being abused. One of the issues that we see repeatedly is that many of the victims are reluctant to testify against their abusers for a variety of reasons, the most crucial being fear of further abuse and retaliation towards themselves or family members. Without an understanding of the many barriers that women face when deciding whether to prosecute, detectives are not equipped to deal with the reasons why a woman may change her mind after initially saying she would like to prosecute. We have experienced varying degrees of understanding of this issue when dealing with DOM detectives, making it unclear whether they're receiving adequate or uniform and ongoing training. The DOM units were created with the intention to train officers to be more sensitized to and have a more in-depth understanding of the issues 133 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 facing victims of domestic violence. The response of a detective can affect a victim's willingness to contact the police department in the future if she's in danger. The DOM detectives have a very important role in connecting women to important community resources, assisting them through the legal process and providing information about legal options. Once again, I want to reiterate that we have a great deal of respect for the Philadelphia police officers and for the role of the police department in general. The specific request that we're bringing for City Council consideration and action is to prioritize the creation of a uniform centralized response to domestic violence by the police department and the infrastructure to support an ongoing partnership with community-based domestic violence organizations. Thank you for your attention.
Thank you. Neydary Zambrano. I founded the agency, so you don't have to tell me about it. NEYDARY ZAMBRANO: Okay. My name is 134 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 Neydary Zambrano and I'm the Women's Wellness Department manager of Congreso de Latinos Unidos. Basically I supervise the Latina Domestic Violence Program. Basically our expertise is working with the Latino community in the Northeast Philadelphia, and that's why some of the issues that I'm bringing today are issues that affect the immigrant community, not only with Latinos, but also other immigrant communities, as well as the domestic violence victims in general. Domestic violence is a very traumatic experience and is really -- it becomes harder when you have to share it with people from outside. That becomes especially tricky for Latinos, who are taught that they do not air their dirty laundry outside the home. The fear or shame can further be exacerbated by the threat of deportation, fear and distrust of authorities and linguistic and cultural obstacles that they confront. Language is one of the primary obstacles that immigrant victims of violence encounter when they request adequate response from police and other 135 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 city agencies. Latinos total 128,000 in Philadelphia, according to the last census. And based on the census of 2000, five percent of Philadelphia have limited English proficiency; that is, 60,707 people living in Philadelphia over five years old say that they speak English not well or not at all.
Actually, it's much greater than that. The numbers are much -- the census is wrong, but go ahead. Don't worry about it. NEYDARY ZAMBRANO: Yes. And that's something that I wanted to add, that these numbers are probably an underestimation of the reality.
I know some politicians that don't speak English very proficient either, so it's all right. NEYDARY ZAMBRANO: Okay. So having to divulge a private matter to a police officer is not only frightening and intimidating, but could also lead to traumatic consequences. The lack of bilingual officers or interpreting system that will allow the officers to accurately community with everyone at the crime 136 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 scene leads to confusion, revictimization and sometimes false arrest. In the Latino community, as in many immigrant communities, the male of the home is the one who generally works outside the home. This makes him either, if not bilingual, more comfortable to speak the language. In many occasions when police officers arrive at a domestic violence scene, they only interview the abuser or what is --
By the way, that thing about in terms of Latino, it was, but it's changing, but the relationship and the aspect of who is dominant and who is -- still remains the same, even if the woman is the one that works outside the home in our culture. So it's really a problem that really has not changed very much, even if the woman is the one that is actually earning the money in the home and so on. NEYDARY ZAMBRANO: Well, as I was saying, when officers arrive at a domestic violence scene, they only interview the abuser, or what is worse, ask the abuser or the children to translate for the victims. Unfortunately, rather than seeking 137 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 the assistance of a bilingual officer on an AT&T line, police officers often simply arrest both parties. This response deters victims from seeking assistance in the future. In one of our cases about a month and a half ago, we had one woman said that said to us that they arrested her and the police officer actually told her that she would only leave jail when she learned to communicate in English. I know there are --
I'd like to find out who said that. NEYDARY ZAMBRANO: In another of our cases about a month ago, one of our counselors called 9-1-1 together with one of the victims and requested a Spanish-speaking patrol officer to accompany the victim to serve a Protection From Abuse order and get the daughter -- or the victim that was with her partner. The victim and the abuser didn't speak any English. The counselor and the victim waited for three hours in the car, and when the officer came, he did not speak Spanish. Fortunately, he was very, very -- he really was very helpful. 138 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613
That was recent? NEYDARY ZAMBRANO: Yes. That was last month. He was very helpful and he called on the radio for a Spanish-speaking officer, and in less than five minutes two patrols came that had Spanish-speaking officers. This made us think and wonder why the victim's initial request could not have been fulfilled more quickly. As you can see, language can be a decisive factor for victims. Another issue is understanding the culture of different communities is also critical to crafting an appropriate culturally competent response to domestic violence on the part of the police. Because of their experiences in other communities where violation of human rights such as disappearance, torture and death are common at the hands of the police, a lot of American people look at the police as a source of fear rather than protection. Many officers lack the cultural sensitivity to recognize that certain communities' perception will influence the behavior of members of that community. These officers make wrong conclusions and can leave women vulnerable to 139 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 further violence. One of the issues that has been brought a lot to our counselors is that if they don't look at the officer directly in the eye or if they not state directly what happened, it will lead the police officers to feel that the women are lying. And that's not the reality. That's part of a cultural norm that some communities have. So like the fear of being misunderstood, women may be reluctant to seek the police assistance despite the fact that it could be crucial to their safety. Victims may also be hesitant to call the police or reveal information at a crime scene because of the perception that police as an authority figure has in that they are closely related with the Immigration and Naturalization Services. In immigrant communities, police are also seen as an arm of the INS, so undocumented victims may be afraid to call the police for fear of deportation. Actually, that fear of deportation is a common control mechanism that the abuser usually used to keep the women under the abusive situation. And women sometimes -- 140 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613
And with the current atmosphere that we have, that only is making it worse. NEYDARY ZAMBRANO: Women sometimes are more afraid of being deported than the abuse itself continuing. After all, in many instances, returning to a politically and economically unstable region may appear to pose far greater danger than ensuring violence from an intimate partner. Women should not have to make such a choice. Unfortunately, for some victims, this fear of deportation is well-founded. The assessment that the police officers must make at the time of a violent incident can have a profound impact on a victim who may be defending herself. As stated in the police department response regarding immigrants, the police can respond -- can report an undocumented immigrant to the INS when the person is suspected of engaging in a criminal activity. Women certainly have reasons to fear the police if they are undocumented. An arrest for domestic violence may lead to deportation of an undocumented battered woman. Women are discouraged from calling the 141 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 police because of fear of being deported themselves or deporting their partner who may be the only source of income in the family.
You know, I introduced a resolution here in City Council that got passed, in essence, that asked our police department not to become an arm of the INS and not to inquire and report individuals based on their immigration status. If that is happening, I would really like to find out if that is really going on, because we are not supposed to be part of the John Ashford right wing hooping of people of the George Bush administration anti-immigrant type of politics, not in this city. We're still democrats and hopefully progressive. But that should not be happening within the police department. NEYDARY ZAMBRANO: I would like to highlight here that it is also a perception of the immigrant community and also we have had clients who are really concerned about calling the police because of fear of deportation. And based on these documents that the police department responds regarding immigrants, they can actually report a 142 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 victim to the -- well, not a victim; a person who is suspected of engaging in criminal activity to the INS. So this is something that is there and --
But we have to educate our police, and our police then have to educate the citizens of Philadelphia. And we have to put a message out that they will not act as the enforcers of unjust laws that are passed in Washington. NEYDARY ZAMBRANO: Even immigrant women who are here legally and are permanent residents can be vulnerable to deportation if they're convicted of an assault on their batterers. This jeopardizes the safety of the women and their children, not only because they may go back to a devastating situation that they fled from in the first place, but that will get much worse if the abuser decides to follow them. In order to ensure the right of all victims of domestic violence to live free from violence, the Latina Domestic Violence Program and the other DV programs respectfully request the following: That the police officers at the scene of the crime, whenever possible, speak the language of 143 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 the victim and particularly at the VAO and DOM units. If there is not that possibility of having a police officer, then that a language line would be used to translate; that all police are trained in culturally sensitivity. Such training will enable police officers to be better aware of the cultural economics and potential fears that a victim may have and so that the officers may be better equipped with the skills necessary to get information they need to make a determination of the situation. And, finally, that all the officers are fully trained on the policies pertaining to immigrants and subsequently their responsibility in carefully assessing the situation so that victims of abuse are not wrongly arrested and charged with assault, even when they are acting in self-defense; hence, facing deportation.
Thank you. Thank you very much. Family Violence Unit, Chris Mallios and Elizabeth Jobes. CHRIS MALLIOS: Good morning, Councilman.
Good morning. 144 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 CHRIS MALLIOS: My name is Christopher Mallios and I am an assistant district attorney. I'm the chief of the Family Violence and Sexual Assault Unit.
I got the letter from Lynn. CHRIS MALLIOS: Very well. This is Liz Jobes. She's also an assistant district attorney, and she is the assistant chief of our unit. I want to talk to you a little bit about our office's response to domestic violent in Philadelphia. And at the outset, I would like to say that our office and our unit is unique in Philadelphia, in that we treat domestic violence, child abuse and sexual assault as all part of the same problem. It's all part of violence against women, violence against children and violence within the home. And we are the only agency, the only government agency in Philadelphia, that handles all of these cases in one integrated department. Our unit is staffed by prosecutors. There are 16 assistant district attorneys in our unit. We have four detectives in our unit. And all 145 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 of the detective and attorneys in our unit have been specifically chosen for our unit, not only because of their excellence as prosecutors and as police officers or detectives, but because we see in them a sensitivity to this issue and willingness to work on these types of cases. No one ends up in our unit by accident.
I know the previous director was quite a sensitive person, right? CHRIS MALLIOS: That's exactly right. And we learned a lot from her, and we are trying to continue the good work that she was doing.
She established certain parameters in terms of how those cases were to be handled. CHRIS MALLIOS: That's exactly right. And I was her assistant chief for a year and a half, and we're still carrying out many of those same parameters. Our detectives, two of them are veterans of the Special Victims Unit of the Philadelphia Police Department. One of them is an experienced counselor and one of them is a national expert in domestic violence, who is Anna Rodriguez and is here 146 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 today.
You've been sitting. You've heard some of the testimony. And I would like to find out from you how it is and where can we begin trying to structure systems that handle some of the problems that we've heard today. Because not all problems, obviously, are resolved by the DA. And we would like to hear, one, how you go about doing it, what is the process of it and your recommendations. CHRIS MALLIOS: Okay. Well, first of all, we realize, as you said, that the criminal justice system alone cannot stop domestic violence and cannot end the violence in the lives of victims. However, what we can do is be there and be a constant for when that victim and when that survivor of domestic violence does want to go to court, to give them an attorney and give them a voice to go into court and be a passionate advocate on their behalf. And that's what we're doing every day. One of the things that you asked in the letter to the district attorney are statistics about the numbers of domestic violence cases, and, 147 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 unfortunately, our office does not keep those types of statistics. I know the court system does and I know the police department does. I can tell you that, roughly, we have about 125 new criminal prosecutions of domestic violence every week. And I did the math. It works out to about 6400 cases a year. That's felonies and misdemeanors. That's cases that are being prosecuted in Family Court for violations of Protection From Abuse order, as well as cases in the Criminal Justice Center for misdemeanor trials and felony prosecutions.
Is it because of the police designation, that they don't designate crimes along the same lines? You don't keep those statistics? CHRIS MALLIOS: I don't --
Because it really would be very helpful to get a clear picture if your office maintained the number, and it would be good to see of those cases that are prosecuted, because it would give us a clearer view as to how they're handled and whether the courts treat male abusers or abusers of women as they would treat, let's say, a drug dealer that comes in and then they try to put 148 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 them away for life and so on, to see whether the punishment befits the crime as such. CHRIS MALLIOS: Frankly, it's a question of resource allocation, and we do not have the resources to have a unit of people simply keeping track of the numbers of these types of cases.
But isn't it simple? I mean, through a computer, you classify it, you punch it in and then you have results. I mean, whether it was dismissed, whether there was a plea agreement, whether the person was found guilty and what was the punishment, you know, was it probation. Do we have a series of judges, for instance, that treat women abuse in a much lighter manner than if it was aggravated assault out in the street? CHRIS MALLIOS: Well, you know, any time there's a domestic case that goes to court, there are issues that we have to deal with in these cases that would not be in the normal case. For example, if someone is walking down the street and gets robbed or attacked by a stranger, no one is going to go into court and say that that witness is lying against that stranger because they have a previous sexual relationship with that person. But when 149 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 someone has been in a relationship with someone, there are all these other issues, and defense attorneys attempt to exploit these issues in trial. And that's why we have specially trained prosecutors who attempt to overcome these defenses that are built that these types of cases. You're right, it might help in terms of the systemic approach to the problem to have these numbers for you, but as I said, we don't have them. Maybe we need to ask City Council for money to have a unit to keep track of these statistics. But we don't have that right now.
But that would give -- because I think it would give weapons to people like Carol Tracy, it would give weapons to organizations like Women Against Abuse and so on down the line to -- you know, right now judges, for right or wrong, some judges get attacked because of the lenient with drug dealers and they let them out, and your office goes crazy ranting and so on and you hold press conferences about -- I know that Lisa Rowel got really crucified through the press. I think the same should happen to a judge that let's a woman abuser out with two weeks' 150 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 probation, or whatever it is, or 45 hours of community service. And it would be good to have some detail as to what happens to these individuals that don't get to the point where they kill the woman, but they assault her and do bodily damage and maybe -- because if 15,000 go through domestic court and then -- I don't know what Judge Field said, but, actually, like a thousand of them or a few over a thousand go through a criminal contempt proceeding. And that's criminal contempt. That is not aggravated assault or aggravated sexual assault and so on down the line, because -- and we really -- I think it would be helpful to us to help you get some more money from administration to do this type of prosecution if we had the statistics available that you could make the case and you could say, Listen, we have so many aggravated sexual assault cases coming in, but we're not able to prosecute them all at that level because we don't have the resources. And, really, I think it would give a hammer to the advocates of women's issues if they're able to have those numbers to put in front of politicians when they go up for reelection or 151 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 election in their activities. Well, what have you done to provide funds for putting these type of individuals away? Because they really are scum. I mean, really, a person who hits a woman is really bad. I mean, I know that George Bush has overused the word "evil" and "evil doer," but these guys are really evil doers. And I think I just would like to see those numbers and those statistics, because I think it would provide us with a tool to help you. CHRIS MALLIOS: I appreciate your passion on this issue, but the numbers are not available. As I said, the police department has numbers, the court system has numbers, and, remember, that although there were representatives here from Family Court today, the vast majority of family abuse and family violence cases are in the criminal court and not in the Family Court.
Right. And that's where we need your help, to give us those areas and those issues so really we can proceed on them. So go ahead. CHRIS MALLIOS: Okay. We have been 152 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 partnering with many of the organizations that are here today and other organizations, both formally and informally. We've participated in trainings at many of the victim advocacy organizations, and those organizations have come to the district attorney's office and helped train our attorneys and our victim witness coordinators and our detectives. We have -- I brought a list with me and I could go through the organizations where we participated in training. Women Against Abuse, the University of Pennsylvania, the Nursing School of the University of Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Police Department, the Philadelphia Probation Department, which serves a vital role in helping to prevent domestic violence. The National Liberty Museum, the Department of Human Services, Women in Transition, Temple Law School, the Weed and Seed Program, the Support Center for Child Advocates. We've helped train the Municipal Court judges. We've done trainings at Episcopal Hospital, at the Center for Gay and Lesbian Civil Rights, Men against Sexual Violence, Women Organized Against Rape, Philadelphia Children's Alliance. And we could go on and on and on. We sit at meetings, some 153 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 are monthly, some are bimonthly, where we discuss these issues and we bring everyone to the table. We make speakers available. We never turn down an opportunity or a request from either a community organization, an employer. Anyone that wants to enlighten their people about these issues, we will send people out, and frequently the attorneys will go after hours on their own time, because it's an important issue and it's part of our job in the community to help raise awareness. And that's one of the reasons that we are so glad that City Council and this Committee is holding these hearings, because it is raising awareness of this issue. You also requested some internal memoranda that we used to help train our staff, and, unfortunately, we can't make that available. We are a government agency, but we're also a litigation law firm for the City of Philadelphia. And our concern is that some of those documents and some of those materials, if used by defense attorneys, could be used against domestic violence victims. Because you have to remember, Councilman, sometimes we can go into court and we can work things out, but for the 154 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 most part, we're dealing with very adversarial litigation.
And it's the way it should be, because -- you know, I'm an attorney on the defense side. CHRIS MALLIOS: I know that.
And that's the way it should be. But there are some individuals that really -- and I mean training manuals or training material, you don't think the trial attorneys in this city have those manuals? CHRIS MALLIOS: Well, you know, there are a lot of defense attorneys who are representing people in domestic violence cases that don't understand domestic violence. They don't understand the cycle of violence. They don't understand the responses, the government response, the counseling response. And sometimes that gives us a tactical advantage, that they don't know that, because if we can go into court and we can educate a judge or a jury about the dynamics of this relationship and the dynamics of what was happening in the case, then we have a leg up and we have a tool that we can use to help a victim of domestic violence in court. And 155 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 that's what we do. That's our job. Now, with that said, should any agency or any -- whether it's a victim advocacy organization or a government agency ask us to come to the table and help us develop training protocols and memoranda and other materials to help either law enforcement or any other agency, we would be happy to do that. We would be happy to bring what we have and sit at the table and work in a cohesive way. But we just can't give you our internal memoranda. It's just work product.
So tell me -- you don't have the numbers, but you said that usually -- you put the number 6,000 out there? CHRIS MALLIOS: Well, as I said, I'm estimating approximately 125 new criminal cases a week, so 52 times that is about 6400 cases.
6400 cases. CHRIS MALLIOS: And we have divided the felony prosecution -- my unit handles the felony prosecution of domestic violence cases, and specially trained attorneys in our Municipal Court unit handle the misdemeanor cases.
And how many you 156 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 estimate in the felony prosecutions? CHRIS MALLIOS: I don't have that number for you. Again, I think either the court or the police could give you that information.
Can you try to give me your estimate? I'll get from them, but I'd like to hear what your estimate would be. CHRIS MALLIOS: I can't give it to you, because I don't know and I didn't crunch any numbers on that issue before coming here, and I don't want to be irresponsible by making some numbers up.
If you look at it, can you let me know later on? CHRIS MALLIOS: I'd be happy to do that.
Take a week and let me know. CHRIS MALLIOS: Sure. Again, it would be an estimate. And I also wanted to point out that the people we serve, the victims that come to court that we advocate for, are an incredibly diverse group of people, socioeconomically diverse, racially diverse, ethnically diverse, members of all sexual orientations, transgendered individuals. And we do 157 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 our best to make sure that everyone gets a fair shake in the court system. In addition, we do have people in our office who speak a wide variety of languages. And whenever -- the first thing that we do is, when we have someone who speaks a language that is not one of the common languages, such as Spanish or Chinese, we call our human resources department and find out who speaks different foreign languages. And if there's no one else available if our office, we either go to the police department or we will use the AT&T translation service, which is a valuable resource for us. Of course, in court, the court provides a verbatim transcription. So if you have any other questions, I'd be happy to answer them, but, essentially, what we're doing every day is going to court and fighting for victims of domestic violence. As supervisors, Liz and I receive phone calls frequently from people in the different victim advocacy organizations that want us to take another look at cases, and we're always happy to do that. Sometimes cases are not what they first seem, and we're always happy and glad when something like that 158 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 is brought to our attention, and when possible, we specially assign those cases to attorneys, we bring the victims in, we bring sometimes the accused in, and we'll sit down with their attorney and we'll just -- and we'll try and get the best possible and the fairest result. We don't keep statistics on convictions, because we don't want to be pushing just for a conviction, because a conviction is not the appropriate result in every case.
No. We agree. We agree. We'd just like to get a total clear picture of the situation. CHRIS MALLIOS: And I can understand why someone in your position would want that. Unfortunately, I have to come here today saying that I don't have the information to give you.
We'll be calling you back to talk. This is not the end of what we're doing. This is a process. CHRIS MALLIOS: Okay.
Thank you very much. 159 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 CHRIS MALLIOS: You're welcome.
Ourania Papademetriou, Stephanie Gonzalez and Stacey. I saw Stacey here. Hi. OURANIA PAPADEMETRIOU: I'm going to start by correcting your pronunciation of my name, Councilman.
Right. I correct people when they mispronounce my name. I'm sorry. Go ahead. OURANIA PAPADEMETRIOU: I'm sure.
Identify yourself for the record, please, and spell your name for the stenographer. OURANIA PAPADEMETRIOU: Yes. Thank you, Councilman. My name is Ourania Papademetriou.
It's misspelled. OURANIA PAPADEMETRIOU: I think it may be misspelled. I think in my official comments my name is spelled, but I will spell it for the record. O-U-R-A-N-I-A, P-A-P-A-D-E-M-E-T-R-I-O-U.
I mispronounced it because it's misspelled on my sheet. 160 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 OURANIA PAPADEMETRIOU: I'm quite used to that, as I'm sure you are, Councilman, to have our names mispronounced and misspelled.
My daughter is named Pilar, and in school they don't pronounce it correctly. They say Pilar, and she doesn't answer. And she's gotten into trouble with teachers and she said, Well, you didn't call me. My name is Pilar. She's a very self-asserting young woman. Go ahead. OURANIA PAPADEMETRIOU: Thank you, Councilman. Again, my name is Ourania Papadmetriou. I am the director of the Women Against Abuse Legal Center here in Philadelphia. Women Against Abuse Legal Center is the first legal clinic in the country for domestic violence victims and has provided free legal assistance to more than 150,000 victims during its 25-year history. While experts agree that domestic violence cuts across all racial, economic, age and religious lines, it is often low income individuals with the fewest options and resources who rely most 161 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 heavily on the Women Against Abuse Legal Center for assistance. Amid the alarming statistics surrounding domestic violence is the encouraging evidence that legal protection is the most effective deterrent available today to halt domestic violence. In 1976, the Pennsylvania Legislature provided a framework for relief with the Protection From Abuse Act. Under this Act, the primary relief for -- I'm sorry. The primary vehicle for relief is a Protection From Abuse order. A Protection From Abuse order can provide a variety of remedies that are useful in preventing further abuse, such as eviction, temporary custody and support, and the removal of weapons. It is clear from our experience that at the Legal Center that the ultimate effectiveness of a PFA in actually protecting a victim of domestic violence from further attacks is directly related to how specific and comprehensive is the relief granted by the court. Furthermore, the ultimate efficiency of legal protection afforded abuse victims also 162 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 requires a coordinated community response through competent legal representation, specific and comprehensive judicial relief and, very importantly, an aggressive police response to allegations of abuse and violations of existing Protection From Abuse orders. The importance of police involvement cannot be overemphasized, because out in the streets it is the police that put the teeth into a Protection From Abuse order. In Philadelphia, 15,000 individuals annually file petitions in order to obtain Protection From Abuse orders. The overwhelming majority of these individuals, over 80 percent, are unrepresented in their Protection From Abuse action.
Actually, it's higher, according to the judge, but... OURANIA PAPADEMETRIOU: I think. Women Against Abuse Legal Center tries to provide either legal representation or legal advocacy services to each of these individuals and operates programs in nearly all the civil, criminal and juvenile courtrooms in Philadelphia where domestic violence cases are heard. 163 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 Our staff and volunteers talk confidentially to the victims of domestic violence present in court. Our staff explains the court process and provides legal options counseling, in-court advocacy, resources and referral information, safety planning information and other supportive services to each victim that we are able to assist. Women Against Abuse currently employs four attorneys at the Legal Center. One attorney, just one attorney, works primarily on the legal representation in Protection From Abuse matters. Another specializes in representation for clients with disabilities, and the third attorney works principally on custody and support cases where there are domestic violence issues. I am the Legal Center director. I am also an attorney, and I'm responsible for the overall management and supervision of the Legal Center and its staff, which is comprised of ten civil and criminal court advocates assigned to the courtrooms where domestic violence cases are heard, a self-defense project coordinator, an intake paralegal and a litigation assistant. 164 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 A Protection From Abuse order is designed to stop a person from abusing, stalking, harassing and threatening a family member, household member, intimate partner or minor child. The primary purpose is to prevent future physical and sexual abuse. In order to obtain a PFA, a victim of domestic violence must first file a petition with the court. In this petition the petitioner needs to describe both the most recent incident of abuse and any past abuse. The petitioner will also need to detail the relief sought, such as the stopping of abuse, stalking, harassment, no contact, eviction, an order for temporary custody and support, and a request that the sheriff seize any and all weapons. It is important to note that here in Philadelphia there is only one sheriff assigned to confiscate all weapons that are ordered to be seized under each and every Protection From Abuse order granted. In Philadelphia, during normal business hours, a person seeking to obtain a PFA files his or her petition free of charge -- 165 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613
That, I didn't know, one sheriff. OURANIA PAPADEMETRIOU: One sheriff, yes, Councilman. He's right down the hall from our office. We share office space. One sheriff. One files a petition free of charge at the Family Court Domestic Violence Unit at 34 South 11th Street, Room 242. This wait for filing a protection order is invariably long and difficult. Court personnel assists victims in filing initial petitions for protection. No further assistance or forms are available if a victim later needs to modify or extend an existing Protection From Abuse order or to file based on a violation. In that case, a victim is forced to obtain these forms from the Legal Center or from Philadelphia legal assistants. The vast majority of these victims get no help whatsoever, rendering their PFA less effective and less of a deterrent to future violence. During the hours that court is closed; that is, from the close of business at the end of each day to the beginning of the next business day, 166 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 on weekends and on holidays, a petitioner must file 3 his or her petition at the emergency filing site at the Criminal Justice Center, where there is a domestic violence master present to review the petitions filed. It is our experience that too often victims are refused the right to file petitions at both sites. No one should be turned away when seeking protection. A further problem occurs when filings are accepted at the emergency filing site, but little or no relief is granted. It is up to a judge of the Court of Common Pleas after reviewing the allegations in the petition to determine whether any temporary relief is granted. After filing, the petitioner must serve the petition and notice of date of hearing on the respondent prior to the hearing date. For safety reasons, the Legal Center encourages victims to have police officers assist them in serving these documents. In Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Police Department requires that the petitioner be present during service. All hearings in Philadelphia are held in 167 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 one of the two designated abuse courtrooms on the second floor of Family Court. The court typically schedules hearings for 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. lists. There is one waiting room for each of these two courtrooms, so all parties, victims and abusers alike, sit together in one space, increasing the likelihood of intimidation, fear and threats of violence. Often family members, friends and others accompanying the petitioner to court for encouragement and support are not allowed by the court personnel to enter the room.
We've heard that. OURANIA PAPADEMETRIOU: When it is time to enter the courtroom, the petitioners are on their own to present their case and address the judge with their concerns and requests for relief. Over 80 percent of all petitioners enter the courtroom without attorney representation, relying on the judge to fashion for them the protection they need to stop and prevent further abuse. Generally, there are 45 to 60 cases per day per courtroom, and these are listed before each 168 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 of the two judges. While hearing these cases, the two judges must also review all petitions that were filed at the two filing sites, at the domestic violence unit and at the emergency filing site. All Protection From Abuse orders can be enforced through contempt proceedings if they are violated. Since violations of Protection From Abuse orders can result in criminal sanctions, the existence of a PFA can serve as a significant deterrence to future violence. The strength of the PFA as a tool to do this depends largely upon the responsiveness of the criminal justice system to the victims' report of contempt. The police may arrest the batterer without a warrant if there is probable cause to believe that a violation of the order has occurred. They do not need to be present to witness the act constituting the violation. When there is an arrest, the case is tried by the assistant district attorney at the Criminal Justice Center. Problems occur when the responding officer does not want to press charges when the 169 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 victim calls them alleging a violation. If this occurs, the victim can then call the police district and ask for the domestic violence detective to discuss the violation. However, it is our experience that it is very difficult to make contact with that detective. Police district phones are often busy or go unanswered, until the victim gives up and ceases to follow through on the violation of the order. The victim, thereby, becomes more victimized and less protected and less safe. Abusers are more empowered to abuse and less persuaded to stop if police do not take seriously a victim's call for help where there is a violation of an existing protection order. Although the victim can file a private criminal complaint or a civil contempt petition, there is just one advocate from the Women Against Abuse Legal Center to provide this assistance, and these remedies are far less effective than an actual arrest by the police where there has been a violation. Amid the alarming statistics surrounding domestic violence is the encouraging evidence that legal protection joined with the coordinated 170 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 community and police response and specific and comprehensive relief from our courts is the most effective deterrent available today to stop domestic violence.
Thank you. OURANIA PAPADEMETRIOU: Thank you, Councilman.
There once was a saying, We're not going to take it anymore. When am I going to get an explanation here that is going to correspond to that? I think it's outrageous the report that the young woman just gave us about the lack of legal services. It would seem to me that a person who is suffering from domestic abuse would at least be able to present her case, would be very fearful as to what she might say, would certainly need sound legal advice from get-go, probably would often need legal advice to even continue to proceed. Putting the burden on the person herself or himself, whatever the case may be, just 171 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 discourages and lowers the number of people that are willing to undertake this added burden, because people suffering from domestic violence, in my experience over the years, are usually very fearful. That's why they've subjected -- why they've been subjected to this condition and permitted it to continue. And it takes an awful lot of courage for a person under those circumstances to be ready to proceed, to become a human being again with full rights. So that the need for lawyers available at all times to consult with, to encourage, to let them know what their rights are under the law and how they may be helped, somebody that can measly be checked with, I just think part of the demand of any society has to be for full availability of legal services, and they shouldn't be given by city administration grudgingly. I think it should be a very top priority. And I'm sorry I didn't hear the whole statement, but I have it and I will read it, but from the part I heard, it seems to me that that's got to be a very basic demand. Without that, I don't see how you can have any kind of a really 172 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 effective program. It seems to me that by the process of elimination, probably you're not seeing the worst cases that really exist in Philadelphia. Because people that don't get that kind of support are so less likely to try to correct the condition. They continue to live under it or they do terrible things to themselves. OURANIA PAPADEMETRIOU: Thank you, Councilman, for those thoughts. It's not just having the attorneys available, and certainly we n need more attorneys available, it's also having services in the courtroom, advocates in the courtroom, advocates at all the filing sites to help people wherever they enter the court system to have representation, knowledge, legal options available to them.
Well, I would like to suggest that -- the budget for next year is being put together now. The administration will undoubtedly tell you it's already too late. But it's not. The mayor makes his delivery to City Council late in January. It's the only meeting of City Council that will take place in the month of 173 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 January. I think it's January 28th.
It's on a Tuesday. So you have little more than a month. But I would like to suggest that one of the tasks you might undertake is to develop for Councilman Ortiz and for these two committees and other Council members -- I had to go down to meet with Councilwoman Miller. That's what took me away from the meeting. She has told me she's very supportive of what the committees are doing, because she had worked in the field of domestic violence before she became a councilwoman. She's going to be fully supportive. I believe she was here earlier at the hearing, and she's going to try to make it tomorrow. But I think we'll have a lot of support in City Council. If you can come up with a budget that you would recommend, we can't promise to get all of it to you, but don't stint on the budget. Tell us what you really think would be needed in the Philadelphia situation, and then give us a chance to get at it. 174 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 I would like it, if it were possible, with the Chairman's permission to suggest if you could get that kind of a budget, all of you working together, say, within the next week or ten days. It doesn't have to be a perfect one, but a good one. We would like to begin raising the issue now. And we'd like to begin raising it so that City Council, instead of just reacting to the mayor's proposal, present to the mayor's office what we think the budget ought to include on the service. Perhaps, Mr. Chairman, we could even issue a temporary report from this Committee's hearing --
-- to advance the fight on the budget. Why don't we start now. It seems to me the situation is intolerable, and the sooner we correct it, do it, and don't worry about being polite or not polite. You know, we have free speech in America, and no matter who tries and how hard they try, they're not going to succeed in taking away that right, but if you don't use the right -- you 175 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 know the old saying, If you don't use it, you lose it. So begin using all of your programs, and we will try to assist you. You'll attract attention, and I think when the people of Philadelphia really get aware of this problem, I think they're going to respond, because so many families in the heterosexual society and in the homosexual society, and I wouldn't be surprised in the transgender society, in every society, there are these kinds of problems. They occur within families where there are marriages, they occur where there are no marriages. They occur between all sorts of people. This is just an overwhelming problem and it's a disgrace that human beings aren't given the support to get rid of this kind of a disease that really exists in our society. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Let me add something to what Councilman Cohen is saying. Women in this city make up over 53 percent of the electoral.
And you elected the 176 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 governor, incidentally.
53 percent of the electoral. We have testifying here today probably some of the most energetic, dynamic, intellectual women from across the city. Every City Council person is up for reelection in May and so is the mayor. Two years ago the stadiums and the teams were the priority of politicians in this city. Why don't we make it that priority of women and children should be the priority, that people that want to get elected to Council and to the mayor's office, that that's the priority that they have to look after. We got an opportunity to influence that, and I think if you follow what David is saying, in this year, this is an opportunity to do a lot of that. And budgets should be reflective of the needs of our communities. So, Stephanie, you're from Legal Services and now you're from the Public Law Center? STEPHANIE GONZALEZ FERRANDEZ: No; Philadelphia Legal Assistance.
Philadelphia Legal 177 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 Assistance. Don't describe -- just give me -- we'll put this as such as -- Stacey, you have a book? STACEY SOBEL: I have a book. Don't worry, I'll be shorter than the book. STEPHANIE GONZALEZ FERRANDEZ: And I'm not planning on reading from mine either. Don't worry.
I asked Judge Field and Fox about the gay and lesbian community, and they said, yeah, but they just don't do the demographics, and maybe you can give us some of that. But Stephanie Gonzalez. STEPHANIE GONZALEZ FERRANDEZ. Ferrandez. I got two in there, Gonzalez Ferrandez, F-E-R-R-A-N-D-E-Z. Councilman, thank you for inviting me here today and thank you for everyone for listening to this testimony. I had planned to read from something, but I'm not going to now.
We'll make it part of the record. It will be fully in the record. STEPHANIE GONZALEZ FERRANDEZ: After 178 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 listening to all of my colleagues speak today, I want to touch on a few issues briefly. I think to take up for just a moment the appalling lack of legal services available for poor women in this city, I think we can illustrate that today, because I want you to know, Councilman, that every attorney, with the exception of one, who represents poor or battered women in this city in their Protection From Abuse cases, in their custody cases, in their child support cases is in this room. In fact, they're right back there. There's Melissa, who is brand new; Molly; Erica; Maureen; Susan; myself; Leigh and one woman who is out sick today. We're it. So what I bring --
There's Terry and -- STEPHANIE GONZALEZ FERRANDEZ: I'm talking about the lawyers that actually go to court, over to Family Court. And so what I'm going to describe is what it's like for a battered woman who goes to Family Court and what she's going to encounter, because the Court already gave their statistics, 15,000 protection orders, petitions for protection are filed each year. That does not include the 179 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 custody petition and the child support petition that most of those women also need to file and for which they need representation and assistance. There are four main issues I want to touch upon at Family Court, and I was not here for the beginning, so I don't know if the first was touched upon. But the first is the court facilities and security.
We heard they're horrific. STEPHANIE GONZALEZ FERRANDEZ: I want to relate some personal experiences. I've been a legal advocate at Family Court for 13 years now, for five years as a paralegal and now eight years as an attorney. The bottom line is that Family Court is not safe. I don't think I can adequately describe the scene that you will find there. If you go to Family Court yourself one morning and you walk in the door at 34 South 11th Street, you'll be greeted by a team of officials, some sheriffs, some are a private security company and metal detectors. But once you get past all that, the woman has to go upstairs on 180 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 her own to the second floor courtroom to the third floor hearing officers, and there she doesn't know what she's going to find. Any one of the attorneys sitting here who has been to Family Court can tell you, and sat there for hours and hours waiting for the cases to be called, can tell you that they have seen numerous times a man curse at a woman, walk by and yell at her, tell her, You better drop this or you're going to regret it. I can relate a personal experience. One morning I was representing a woman who I'm going to call Joanne. We were there for a custody proceeding. She had been severely beaten by her husband. She had her protection order, but we were just waiting around. We had been there for more than an hour and she got up to go to the restroom. Maybe 15 minutes passed and she didn't come back, and I started to be concerned. So I walked out into the main lobby area in front of the elevators by the restrooms, and there I found her husband screaming at her. He was a very large man. Screaming at her, waving a piece of paper at her. At first I didn't know what was going on, so as I 181 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 got a little closer -- and, mind you, this is a crowded hallway. There must have been 30 people there. The only people I didn't see there were any of the sheriffs. But as I got closer, I realized he was yelling at her, You better sign this divorce agreement or you're never going to see the kids again. As it turned out, he had taken the children, and that's one of the things we were in court about that day. I mean, when I saw what was going on, there was no one to ask for help. I walked in between them and intervened. I was yelling at him myself, Go back to the courtroom, stop talking to her. This enraged the man even more. He began to scream at me. Just as -- he drew his arm back, and I was like, uh-oh, I'm getting it, you know, he's going to hit me now. One of my friends, a fellow attorney, who was actually a former district attorney, just happened to be standing by, a rather large fellow himself, and came over and intervened. I have no doubt that had it not been for 182 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 that attorney walking over just that minute, both I and my client would have been hit that day. Fortunately, the man calmed down. Well, strode off, I should say, went back to the courtroom, and my client and I, we collected ourselves a little bit, we went back to the courtroom. Fortunately, that day we won the custody proceeding and I got my client's children back. But I wouldn't want -- the important point of this is, we never saw a sheriff that day. Now, I'm giving you a scenario that happened outside the courtrooms. And in the courtroom lobbies is where you will find the most sheriffs. In other parts of the building where many, many proceedings that battered women are involved in, custody proceedings, child support proceedings, you will find no sheriffs regularly assigned. There are just not enough sheriffs. I could tell you another story, but I won't.
There are two buildings, aren't there, at that location? Aren't there two buildings at 34 South 11th Street? STEPHANIE GONZALEZ FERRANDEZ: It's 183 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 actually one giant building. And you don't realize it, because it has various address. It's very confusing. It's confusing for me as an attorney there, much less any of the litigants. But you go in different doors, but it's actually all connected through upstairs corridors. So it's really kind of one joint building which is located between 11th and 12th Street and between Chestnut and halfway between Market. So as an attorney there, and I'm sure my colleagues could tell you, you have to learn which exits to use, because sometimes you have to -- it's sometimes convenient that there's so many exits. You need to go out a different one if you know the batterer is waiting out there for you and your client at the main entrance. So there's several areas. There's several main lobbies. And for the most part, only the courtrooms where the judges are on the second floor have regular security.
So we'll be able to 184 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 get from him the assignments of sheriffs. STEPHANIE GONZALEZ FERRANDEZ: That would be a great help.
I know they're very much understaffed. STEPHANIE GONZALEZ FERRANDEZ: They are. And I should add to my testimony, the sheriffs that are there are very helpful.
Are very helpful? STEPHANIE GONZALEZ FERRANDEZ: Yes. And when you can find one, they are generally very helpful. It is more an issue of abundance.
Availability. STEPHANIE GONZALEZ FERRANDEZ: Yes, absolutely. Also in talking about the -- going to my next point, the physical plan of Family Court. Family Court is simply just too small. When you talk about a lot of these security issues, a lot of these problems arise because the women and their batterers are sitting next to each other, much like my colleague here and I are sitting next to each other, just this close. In a child support conference where a battered woman -- maybe she has 185 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 her protection order. Now she needs to get her child support to make sure that she can provide for herself and her children, she has to sit just like this, next to her batterer. There's a hearing official in front of her, and proceed to defend herself and to ask for child support. And you can imagine asking for money is one of the most heated times in any relationship, even a good marriage, much less in a domestic violence situation. I did a training at Villanova Law School a few weeks ago with a public defender who was a former hearing official, a child support hearing official, and I believe she said in 1997. She said that her hearings were so volatile, that she couldn't take it and she went back to being a public defender to deal with the criminals rather than to be a child support conference officer. That's just an illustration. We need waiting rooms where parties, plaintiffs and defendants, can sit in separate sides. We need facilities where the children can wait and not observe all this, because you have to understand, most of the time children are watching all of this. 186 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613
I think we went through the same problem with trying to do the co-location aspects of the Special Victims Unit in which the rape victim had to go by the rapist or be present as they were being interviewed, and same thing. If it happens with children, it's something that should be fixed. STEPHANIE GONZALEZ FERRANDEZ: I should add, there is actually a lovely nursery at Family Court, but, unfortunately, it's quite small and not always staffed. And that's the reason -- children, who, of course, are required to be present during custody proceedings often to testify.
I visited that nursery. STEPHANIE GONZALEZ FERRANDEZ: I'm glad. Moving on to my next point, it talks about visitation facilities generally. Often when there's been a case of family violence, after the protection order or during the protection order proceeding, there is a need for a secure visitation and exchange location. We don't have that in Philadelphia. A battered woman, she may have her 187 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 protection order, but the judge may still order her to go to a particular place or wait alone at her home while her batterer comes to the home to pick up the children for the weekend. We become a city of exchange locations, because there is no city exchange location or a community exchange location. We exchange our children at McDonald's, at Chuck E. Cheese is a common one. I have a client who meets her batterer every Friday afternoon at the Starbucks Cafe near her house to exchange the child. Now, you laugh, Councilman, because it's unbelievable. It's not coffee anymore. Starbucks is where you exchange the children. But that's preferable, because the only other alternative that we have in which we regularly use is the police station. That is not a place to take children for visitation to exchange them. The same woman that was exchanging her children at Starbucks Cafe, I represented her last month in a proceeding. Unfortunately, her batterer became very angry with her at the Starbucks one day and threw the child into the car, sped off, tires spinning, threatened to kill her. We realize, Well, the Starbucks just isn't working out anymore, 188 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 because, unfortunately, the police never came to the Starbucks.
It's not the caffeine. STEPHANIE GONZALEZ FERRANDEZ: I don't think they had any coffee that day. So what we worked out, we were in court. We must have been there more than an hour, myself, her, her batterer and his lawyer, trying to figure out where we were going to pick up this 7-year-old little boy. The judge at the end -- it must have been an hour -- was very exasperated and said, I give up, we're going to the police station, that's all I've got. So that's where our visitation takes place, our exchanges take place. We need secure exchange locations. Other jurisdictions have them. They need to be community-based. At the same time, we need -- I don't know, Councilman, if you've ever had the pleasure of going to the 1801 Vine Street court nursery on a Sunday.
Yes. STEPHANIE GONZALEZ FERRANDEZ: Okay. 189 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 For those of you who have not, I'll briefly describe, it's not the most family friendly and hospitable place. But if there's needs to be --
I began my career at Legal Services, like many of us here. STEPHANIE GONZALEZ FERRANDEZ: The facilities there, as I say, are less than family friendly. Supervised visitation for parents who may be a danger to their children are conducted at 1801 Vine Street in three two-hour sessions on Sundays. Although the court has attempted, and I have to commend them for this, to arrange for activities and structured activities for the children while they're at the facility, for the most part, it's a large room, there's no monitoring, there's no visitation which is meaningful there. This is particularly -- this is a problem for any child who has to go there and any party or any parent, but it's particularly egregious for battered women. Because, again, I want you to know that the supervised visitation facility is not safe. I can tell you my colleague -- well, a case in my office not too long ago, we were 190 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 representing a woman, again severely beaten by her husband. There were criminal charges pending, but he was released on bail and was allowed to visit with his daughter, who was years old, at the court 6 supervised nursery every Sunday. The little girl would cry. She didn't really want to go, but we couldn't figure out exactly what was going on. We knew nothing was happening to her. The sheriffs, again, are there. A couple are stationed by to observe the proceedings. But we didn't know what was going on. One day the little girl went to visitation. She came out crying hysterically to her mother and she showed her mother her jacket. It was in the winter. This is a low-income family. It's the child's only coat. The father of this child had been trying to make the mother drop, as we speak informally, drop the criminal charges and her restraining order and to come back home with him. He had taken in a magic marker and written in the lining of the child's coat a message to the mother, a very large message, telling her, not so overtly, but, essentially, threatening her that she had better 191 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 drop this case. And this had all happened during the supervised visitation with the child, in plain view of the sheriffs and others. And we were able to take the jacket as evidence back to Family Court to curtail those visits, but that tells you about the level of supervision that's going on during a visit, that someone can take a child's jacket and mark it. Again, other jurisdictions, they have therapeutic visitation for children who have witnessed battering and trauma. That is much more appropriate than what we have here in Philadelphia. I want to talk about another point, language access. From Congreso we heard earlier about the problems that language minorities deal with when they're calling the police for assistance, so I won't discuss that aspect, but what I do want to talk about is the problems that they deal with at Family Court. The Court reported that 15,000 petitions are filed every year. What they failed to mention is that if you do not speak English, they will not help you file those petitions. Only if you speak Spanish. The court has one full-time interpreter on 192 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 duty in the building. There's one at the Domestic Relations branch and there's one at 1801 Vine Street, the juvenile branch. And this Spanish interpreter, they're both great fellows. They're there every day, but they are predominantly needed for judicial proceedings. There are also fortunately, thanks to Congreso, there's a legal advocate in the Abuse Assistance Unit who can help Spanish speakers. However, if you don't speak Spanish -- and I give this as an example that happened to me yesterday -- you will not get assistance unless you can bring your own translator and file a petition for Protection From Abuse. I even handed a copy of my testimony to Judge Fox on her way out and I said, Read the language access part, because this is an egregious area.
I will call her up. STEPHANIE GONZALEZ FERRANDEZ: Well, I'm hoping when I return to my office, I'll have a phone call that this particular lady I'm about to tell you about has a remedy. I'm representing a Moroccan woman. She only speaks French. We were at the court yesterday 193 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 for her custody case.
Somebody mentioned that. We heard testimony about that case today. STEPHANIE GONZALEZ FERRANDEZ: Really?
Yes. STEPHANIE GONZALEZ FERRANDEZ: Okay. I was there yesterday morning with her for her custody proceeding. Unfortunately, the court had forgotten to order the interpreter, so there was no custody proceeding. I don't speak French, but my client speaks enough English that after the proceeding, she had began to tell me -- and I knew this was a domestic violence case -- but she began to tell me that her husband had again threatened her over the weekend. He had threatened to kill her and she was very fearful. Knowing the quickest way to solve this, I said, Well, come on, let's walk over to the Abuse Assistance Unit, let's just start your protection order. That's quicker than what I can do. We walked over there and first we walked to the window. And I don't know if you've ever been there, but you have to shout through a small hole in the glass. And so there I was -- I hope someone may 194 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 have described this, but her perhaps not. Yes. My colleague will discuss that, but, anyway, as I was screaming through the glass, I was asking how long the wait would be, because my client is the mother of a 3-year-old baby and she only has certain number of hours of child care. They said, Well, it's going to be four or five hours. And I said, Well, she can't wait that long, could I have the paperwork so she can go ahead and fill it out and we'll just leave it? No. She -- And we'll take it back home and then she'll bring it in tomorrow morning. No. She has to fill it out here. Okay. Fine. So we leave. She has to go pick up her baby. And, actually, she was going to try to access some other services in the city. Her plan was to go back today to sit. She would have the four or five hours that she needed to sit and wait to file the protection order. And then I realized, wait a minute, how is she going to do this? She only speaks French. So I called. I called myself the Abuse 195 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 Assistance Unit. I didn't quite tell them who I was. I just said, Oh, I'm calling from Legal Services. I got a lady who needs to come over. She only speaks French. Can I send her over tomorrow? I wanted to give you the heads-up that you might need an interpreter. Well, we can't do that. I said, But I'm calling and letting you know a day in advance. No. We don't do that. Doesn't she have a friend she can bring? I said, No. Unfortunately, this woman does not have any friends to bring who can come and wait with her for four to five hours to translate her. Finally, after some haggling on the phone, I was given a number of another court official, that perhaps that person could help me find an interpreter. Needless to say, I didn't go through that, and this evening, after these proceedings, I will be writing the woman's protection petition. However, in the meantime, she is out there with no protection order. This doesn't just happen at the Abuse 196 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 Assistance Unit. I'm going to belabor the bit about language and interpreters a little bit more. In proceedings there are often not interpreters. Now, I have not witnessed a proceeding in front of a judge where there's not an interpreter present. It may have to be continued several times to get somewhat other than a non-Spanish speaker available, but they'll find an interpreter. However, there are many proceedings in which battered women participate, as I told you about the custody and the child support. We have had numerous women come to our office, including Spanish speakers, on days when the Spanish interpreter was busy, who have participated in child support proceedings, again, side by side with their batterer, where they do not speak English. They were called into the support conference and the support officer used the husband to translate for her. Now, you can imagine --
No. 25 STEPHANIE GONZALEZ FERRANDEZ: I have an 197 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 example in January of this year with a Vietnamese women, in February of this year with a Chinese woman, and we've had numerous Spanish speakers report this.
Having the rapist interview the -- no. 8 STEPHANIE GONZALEZ FERRANDEZ: I mean, you can imagine any child support proceeding. And the first question is always, Ma'am, do you still want to proceed with seeking child support? You can imagine what some of the gentlemen respond.
That's was in a court proceeding? STEPHANIE GONZALEZ FERRANDEZ: Yes. Of course, I can't draw on the record for confidentiality, but perhaps I could give you details. And they were both this year. And my colleague, who represented both of these women, is, unfortunately, out sick today.
I'd call the judge. STEPHANIE GONZALEZ FERRANDEZ: I should say -- well, hopefully, the judge is reading this. I should say that in one of the cases my colleague did get in and intervene when she realized 198 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 they had started the proceedings early. The conference officers eventually convinced that perhaps the husband was not the appropriate translator, but the support conference officer's response was to call in the parties' teenage son who was in the lobby, having accompanied his mother to court, for him to come in and translate between his mother and his father about his own child support. So that's the level that we're dealing with. My last comment, my last area, I'm only going to address briefly. This is about, which we've already talked about a lot today, the need for coordination. We've talked about the need for social services for other agencies to coordinate with Family Court during proceedings. As a lawyer, I can talk about this both in terms of the needs for evidence during proceedings and in terms of the need for services after proceedings. If you're a battered woman and you need to prove your case, whether it's a protection order or a custody case, let's say you did make a police report. You need to get a copy of the police report. You need to subpoena the officer to come 199 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 and testify. You have to pay money to get copies of the reports. You have to fill out a form. You have to wait for the report to get back to you. To subpoena a police officer, frankly, is even more complicated. And if you want to know the truth, I can't even tell you how to do it right now because my secretary does that. But it's a long and difficult process, and there's a fee involved. If you need records, perhaps, from the Department of Human Services, which might document some past abuse on the part of your batterer, again, you have to issue a subpoena. It's a very difficult process. We need police officers sitting in the courtrooms to provide the information that's readily available in their own computers. We need the Department of Human Services to be available. These are evidentiary matters. But we also need social services available on the remedy end. Family Court judges do not have access to resources. My colleague, who is sitting with us today, had a case where one of the judges was involved in a custody case and knew that the father in this case was a violent fellow, and she thought 200 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 that angry management classes would be appropriate. That's something that we have here in Philadelphia, but she didn't know where to refer him. She didn't have a specific place. So all she did was write in her order, Defendant to have angry management classes, to attend angry management classes. Well, you can imagine, the father didn't know where to go either and wasn't particularly interested in finding them, so he never did. And today, unfortunately, this woman still suffers harassment from the gentleman involved. If we had social workers and others sitting and available in Family Court to provide resource, information, referrals for angry management, substance abuse treatment and all the other things that can crop up in the life of a family, and particularly in families which are experiencing violence, then we would go a lot further to remedy the situation in which our women and children find themselves. I think -- I could go on and on.
I know. STEPHANIE GONZALEZ FERRANDEZ: I've represented almost -- and I won't -- almost in my 201 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 career, in my short attorney career, I personally represented almost 200 women in a variety of cases, and the stories are endless. And all the stories I've given you today, with the exception of the first one, have happened within the past year. We've come a long way. In 1994, I was the only attorney in the city representing battered women in all areas of family law, and today we have eight. We've come quite a long way, but I hope with the help of City Council, we'll continue to go further.
We haven't gone far enough. Thank you. Stacey. Again, don't read me the book. STACEY SOBEL: Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, Councilman Cohen. One of the reasons why the material I gave you was so thick was because many people don't know much about domestic violence issues and same-sex relationships or for transgender people. I'm not going to go over a lot of that, but that's really more for the education of yourselves and your colleagues who, unfortunately, aren't here to be with us today, but we felt that it was important 202 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 information to get out. It might answer some of your questions.
It will be on the record, so that anyone will be able to read it. STACEY SOBEL: So I will summarize from this other stuff, and I'm going to hit on some of those points. I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak today regarding domestic violence issues related to the City of Philadelphia's courts, your departments and agencies. My name is Stacey Sobel. I am the executive director at the Center For Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights. We are a non-profit organization that advocates a quality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Pennsylvanians through direct legal services, education and policy reform, and we're based here in Philadelphia. When the Center was founded six years ago, we never imagined the impact that domestic violence cases would have on our organization. However, it soon became clear that same-sex couples faced domestic violence at the same rates as heterosexual couples. The need to assist same-sex victims of domestic violence became so pressing, 203 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 that the Center founded our Anti-Violence Project in 2001 to specifically handle these types of cases in the LGBT community, as well as other violence issues. It is common knowledge, and some of my colleagues have spoken about this today, that domestic abuse victims will not seek the assistance of law enforcement or other governmental resources out of fear of retaliation by their abuser, the lack of knowledge of the judicial system or the fear that people will just not believe them. The decision to attempt to access these services can be fraught with tremendous anxiety, especially for same-sex victims of domestic violence. Many of Philadelphia's same-sex abuse victims do not even know that Pennsylvania's Protection From Abuse Act actually covers same-sex relationships, that Philadelphia's Fair Practices Ordinance forbids anti-LGBT discrimination, or that limited social services are available to them. Those who do know that the courts are open to them must consider taking the enormous risk of repeatedly coming out or revealing the nature of 204 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 their relationship with abusers to police, social service providers, legal service providers, court staff and possibly employers or landlords if their abuser violates a Protection From Abuse order and appears at the victim's home or place of employment. For many LGBT people, the prospect of having to endure so much exposure simply carries too many perceived risks, including the risk of being humiliated and rejected by police, attorneys and court staff at a particularly vulnerable moment, the risk of being evicted or the risk of being fired.
Are there any recorded cases in which those things have happened? STACEY SOBEL: Absolutely.
And I think those fears we understand, so that -- I'm interested in the areas in which those things have actually come about and been imposed on the individuals that you're supposed to defend. STACEY SOBEL: Sure. I was just about to get to that. I can give you a couple of examples. Just to let you know, approximately 10 percent of our cases that we handle overall are domestic violence cases. And while the police 205 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 sometimes respond appropriately to reports of same-sex domestic violence, in many other cases they do not. I'd like to give you an example of a man who was severely beaten by his partner. The police were called, and when they arrived to the scene, they harassed the victim for crying. And instead of bringing the victim to the hospital for medical treatment, the police officers brought him back to his abuser. The police have also failed to intervene in other cases that we've had, calling them fair fights between the two partners, or arresting both parties without regard for the circumstances. In other cases, the police will always arrest the bigger person or the one who looks more masculine, even if the evidence indicates that the other person is the domestic violence victim. We've also seen the police refuse assistance to a transgender person even though they had a Protection From Abuse order. The police officers told her that they would not assist her because she was a man, and they laughed at her and they left. 206 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613
Did that happen recently? STACEY SOBEL: Within the last year. When an LGBT person either finds the ability to report their case or actually access the judicial system, they are faced with additional hurdles. And I want to actually talk a little bit about the environment of Family Court, which I consider to be itself a barrier to assistance. To say it's cold and unfriendly to victims is putting it simply. I was thinking that some of my colleagues might have gone into some more detail, but I feel that I have to go into some discussion about the window with the little hole that's about this big, and the fact that there's so little privacy in Family Court. And I think that this disproportionately impacts the Center's clients. When most people come to this window to have their case heard by a court representative, they're doing so in a room full of dozens of people. While this can be embarrassing for anyone, it is even more difficult for LGBT people who must announce their sexual orientation or gender identity 207 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 in front of numerous strangers who may not approve of their relationship. The frequent comments people make in the room regarding the person at the window's case make this situation even more difficult. If you go to this room on a typical day, there will be a number of people waiting in line at the window and then there's people sitting in chairs. And as each person approaches the window and tells their story to the court staffer, everyone else in the room 12 starts making comments, Oh, he did that, you should do this, they should do that and they're --
They do that through this hole? STACEY SOBEL: -- critiquing. No. One person is at the hole talking to the staff and then they've got, just like I'm here right now -- everyone is nodding -- a room full of critics, if you want to call it, who are telling them, do this, do that, you didn't do that, you didn't do that, call Women Against Abuse, call Women in Transition, all these different things. And then all the sudden, because this hole is about this big, you're forced to shout, because -- well, first of 208 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 all, you can't hear hardly anything they're saying to you. So you're yelling there with your now or 4 30 best friends sitting next to you and you're 5 screaming, It's not a man; it's a woman. It's not 6 my husband, or, I am gay, it's not that way. 7 What happens is, this is even made worse 8 because the court staff will always use or assume 9 that any woman who approaches the window -- 10
Like those 11 restaurants up in Navaho with the bullet-proof -- 12 STACEY SOBEL: Exactly. 13
-- and a hole in it? 14 It is demeaning to go order food in one of those 15 places. I can imagine... 16 STACEY SOBEL: So you can imagine how 17 demeaning -- I cannot underestimate the difficulties 18 it is for someone to have the inner strength to walk 19 into that building in the first place. 20
We got to change that. STACEY SOBEL: And just to walk into that building and ask for help, usually those people have been victims of abuse for months and years. And then to go into that room and face that type of 209 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 embarrassment is difficult enough. To couple that with the fact that you are a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender and that you've just announced that to everyone who is sitting there is that much more humiliating, demoralizing. And then you become fearful for your own safety or judgment, because you have no idea who is sitting in that room and how they might feel that you are there because you're involved in a same-sex relationship.
Oh, my God. We should have John Ashford visit that place. STACEY SOBEL: Well, it gets better, because after you yell through the hole that you're gay or lesbian or something, then you have to sit down right in those rows with those other people, and they stare at you, until your number is called and perhaps you get to speak to somebody else. Same-sex victims -- and I have to also say something here. Almost every single person here has talked about women, and as a woman, as someone who is very responsive to --
I asked the judge the question. Go ahead. STACEY SOBEL: -- to domestic violence 210 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 needs in our society, they are overwhelming women who are coming through, but for the men that have to go up to that window and say, I am battered, or, I am a batterer and sit there in a room full of women, or I've been battered by a male person, is a very hard thing to do, or for a transgender person to get up there in a room full of women is even that much more difficult than a lesbian to do. Same-sex victims are often very confused about how the Family Court system works and even if it applies to their relationships at all. For example, if you go into this room, you'll see a very large handwritten sign in the room that states that victims who are not spouses or relatives must be in a sexual relationship with the abuser. Well, first of all, that's not a correct interpretation of the law. A person who is being abused by a former partner may file a complaint. Additionally, no 21 sexual relationships is necessary. The couple may have dated, but not have been sexually intimate. It's also not clear to our clients what is meant by a sexual relationship or if LGBT relationships are even covered, because unlike 211 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 marriage, the state's laws don't even recognize same-sex relationships. Even more disturbing is the fact that personnel sometimes state that they cannot help the victims because they're in a same-sex relationship and they turn them away. This is especially true of victims who seek emergency orders at night or on the weekends. I know we've discussed that a little bit. And the staff often tells our clients to go file a private criminal complaint, which is a process which can take months to be resolved and provides no 13 temporary protection while the process drags on. When complaints are accepted in Family Court, our clients' problems are often the same as many of the others who have testified here, but I would say that they are magnified. Some of the judges encourage cross-complaints against our clients, even in cases where it's not appropriate. Judges also sometimes look at the more masculine partner as the aggressive and the more feminine one as the victim, even when the evidence indicates otherwise. These problems only compound the violence and fear that many victims face and make 212 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 them less likely to access the judicial system in the future. When it comes to the other city departments and most non-profit organizations that work within the city and provide services for domestic violence victims, they do not have materials or programs to address the needs of the LGBT community. For example, there is not one bed in the entire city shelter system that is available for a gay man or a transgender domestic violence victim. Also, people might be hesitant to seek the services of organizations that will assist LGBT people because, for example, the word "woman" is part of that organization's name. And even though they're welcoming, they just feel that those services are not intended for them. On behalf of the Center For Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights and our clients, I respectfully request that the Committees on Public Safety and Health and Human Services review the City's courts, their departments and agencies to ensure they are meeting the needs of all domestic violence victims regardless of their sexual orientation or gender 213 12/17/02 - PUBLIC EALTH - BILL 020613 identify. It is the City's obligation to assist its most vulnerable people. The city has taken steps to improve services to domestic violence victims, but more needs to be done. Thank you.
God, this gets more complicated as we go along. STACEY SOBEL: I don't know if you have any questions.
No. It's a problem. It's something that we have to attend to, and we will. STACEY SOBEL: Thank you.
We will. Thank you. This Committee stands in recess until tomorrow, December 18th, the year of our Lord, 2002, at 1:00 p.m. (Hearing adjourned at 5:15 p.m.) - - - 214 CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings, evidence and objections are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me upon the foregoing matter on December 17, 2002, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. ______________________________ MICHELE L. MURPHY RPR-Notary Public (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)