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EXHIBIT 2015-063
Declaring Freedom from Domestic Violence as a Human Right
Tompkins County Legislature Adopted Resolution #2014-214
WHEREAS, domestic violence is a human rights concern that affects individuals of every gender,
sexual orientation, race, age, nationality, religion, and economic status, and
WHEREAS, domestic violence can take many forms, including physical, sexual, psychological,
or economic abuse, intimidation, isolation, and coercive control by intimate partners or family members,
and
WHEREAS, more than 1 in 3 women and more than 1 in 4 men in the United States will
experience rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner during their lifetimes, according
to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and
WHEREAS, in 2013, the Advocacy Center of Tompkins County answered 2,055 calls on its
domestic violence and sexual assault hotline and served 212 new adult domestic violence clients,
including providing shelter for 37 adults and their 25 children and helping 72 individuals obtain final
orders of protection from the courts, and
WHEREAS, survivors of domestic violence must deal with the effects of physical injuries, long-
term psychological damage, financial and career instability, and trouble finding safe housing, and
WHEREAS, domestic violence has a deeply negative impact on children who are exposed to it,
and
WHEREAS, social service agencies, law enforcement, courts, cities, counties, towns, villages,
and other local government entities constitute the first line of defense against domestic violence, and
WHEREAS, the United States played an influential role in the 1948 adoption of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly, and
WHEREAS, domestic violence is a violation of the human rights guaranteed by international law,
including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ratified in 1976), and the Convention
Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading treatment or Punishment (ratified in 1987),
which the United States has ratified through coordination and consent between the Executive Branch and
the Senate, and
WHEREAS, in 2005, the United States Supreme Court in Town of Castle Rock v. Jessica
Gonzales, treated an obvious case of domestic violence as merely a due process case ignoring the fact that
swifter police response could have saved the lives of her three children; thereafter, Jessica Lenahan
(Gonzales) sued the Town of Castle Rock before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
(IACHR), a regional human rights tribunal, which, in 2011, in contrast to the U.S. Supreme Court, found
that the failure of the United States to protect Jessica and her daughters from domestic violence was a
violation of their human rights, noting that "[t]he systemic failure of the United States to offer a
coordinated and effective response to protect Jessica and her daughters from domestic violence" violated
their rights to life, nondiscrimination, equal protection of the law, and judicial protection under the 1948
American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man, and
WHEREAS, in 1988 the federal Office of Victims of Crime was established, and in 1995 the
federal Office of Violence Against Women was established, and these federal initiatives led to State
initiatives that govern the local protocols the County has in place today, and
WHEREAS, Tompkins County has been a leader in acknowledging and responding to the
existence of domestic violence by introducing a number of initiatives, including creating the Task Force
for Battered Women/Child Sexual Abuse Project in 1987 (which has since become The Advocacy Center)
and establishing the Integrated Domestic Violence Court in 2003, and
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WHEREAS, in Tompkins County, law enforcement agencies reported an average of 147 victims of
domestic violence offences per year between 2010 and 2013, and
WHEREAS, by officially recognizing at this time that freedom from domestic violence is a
human right, the Tompkins County Legislature intends to raise public awareness of and contribute to
better public understanding of this basic issue in our communities, and
WHEREAS, the Tompkins County Legislature seeks to enhance the public welfare by declaring
that freedom from domestic violence is a fundamental human right, now therefore be it
RESOLVED, on recommendation of the Public Safety Committee, That the Tompkins County
Legislature joins world leaders and leaders in the United States in recognizing domestic violence is a
human rights concern and declares that freedom from domestic violence is a fundamental human right,
RESOLVED, further, That the Tompkins County Legislature believes the state and local
governments should continue to secure this human right on behalf of their citizens,
RESOLVED, further, That the Legislature recognizes that Tompkins County departments and
agencies already have protocols in place that acknowledge and address the multiple problems that arise
from domestic violence and strongly supports the continuation of their efforts to eradicate domestic
violence in our community and that those effo1is continue to be informed by domestic violence survivors'
voices and needs,
RESOLVED, further, That Tompkins County shall consider participating, together with
community partners such as the Advocacy Center and The Cornell Law School Global Gender Justice
Clinic, in a study of the causes of local domestic violence incidents and of the gaps and barriers in the
County's service delivery to survivors of domestic violence, with the goals of preventing domestic
violence, strengthening the County's response to domestic violence, and improving the provision of
services to survivors,
RESOLVED, further, That a copy of this resolution be sent to the City and Village Mayors and
Town Supervisors in Tompkins County, the Honorable Chairs and Members of the Tompkins County
Council of Governments, the Tompkins County Office of Human Rights, the Tompkins County Sheriff,
the Police Chiefs for the City of Ithaca and Villages of Cayuga Heights, Dryden, Groton, and
Trumansburg, the Cornell University Police Chief, the Ithaca College Public Safety Director, the
Tompkins Co1iland Community College Campus Safety Director, the New York State Police Troop C
Station Commander, the Tompkins County District Attorney, the judges in Tompkins County, Governor
Andrew Cuomo, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton, Senate Majority
Coalition Leaders Dean Skelos and Jeff Klein, and Senators James Seward, Thomas O'Mara and Michael
Nozzolio.
SEQR ACTION: TYPE II-20
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and
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WHEREAS, domestic violence has a deeply negative impact on children who are exposed to it