Title
Declaring that freedom from domestic violence is a universal human right.
Body
WHEREAS The City Council of Saint Paul, Minnesota seeks to enhance public welfare by declaring that freedom from domestic violence is a fundamental human right; and
WHEREAS Domestic Violence is a human rights concern that affects women, children and men of all races, sexual orientations, spiritual beliefs, ages, educational backgrounds and economic conditions; and
WHEREAS The United Nations, world leaders and leaders throughout the United States recognize that relationship violence is a human rights concern; and
WHEREAS Domestic violence takes many forms, including physical, sexual, psychological and economic abuse, intimidation, isolation and coercive control by the perpetrators, and
WHEREAS Domestic violence dangerously impacts our community 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days out of the year; and
WHEREAS Each year across the U.S., 1 in 4 women are beaten or raped by a partner during adulthood; 2.3 million people are raped and/or physically assaulted by a current or former spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend, and hundreds of lives are lost due to perpetrators’ need to isolate, intimidate and control their victims; and
WHEREAS In the past two calendar years, at least 61 people in Minnesota have died due to domestic violence; and
WHEREAS Intimate partner violence is not an occasional loss of control or manifestation of anger; it is a pattern of abuse used by a person to control and oppress another.
WHEREAS The City of Saint Paul has been a leader in domestic violence response, including the implementation of the FLARE-UP Program, the creation of the Blue Print for Safety, the establishment of a collaboratively run Victim Service Center, and being home to the first battered women’s shelter in the United States; and
WHEREAS In 2014, the St. Paul Police Department received an estimated 5,000 initial domestic crime 911-calls; greatly reduced over the past eight years by ov...
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