Title
Recognizing October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Body
WHEREAS the City Council of Saint Paul, Minnesota recognizes that living free from domestic violence is a fundamental human right; and
WHEREAS domestic violence affects women, children and men of all races, sexual orientations and identities, spiritual beliefs, ages, educational backgrounds and economic conditions; and one out every three females in Minnesota will experience domestic violence in their lifetime; and
WHEREAS domestic violence involves physical, sexual, psychological and economic abuse, intimidation and isolation; and
WHEREAS domestic violence is a pattern of power and abuse used by a person to control and oppress another; and that all forms and systems of oppression must be eliminated; and
WHEREAS in 2022, at least twenty women and one man in Minnesota were killed by a current or former intimate partner; and more than half were killed with a firearm or weapon; and
WHEREAS at least three more Minnesotans who were friends, family or bystanders lost their lives during a domestic violence incident; and
WHEREAS Fifty-two children, thirty-one of whom were minor children in Minnesota lost their mother in this past year due to domestic violence; in which sixteen of them were present at the time of the murder or discovery of her body; and
WHEREAS the City of Saint Paul - from being home to the very first domestic violence shelter in the nation, groundbreaking culturally specific programming, and the birthplace of the national Blueprint for Safety which focuses on victim safety and offenders accountability with opportunities for change, to the creation of Bridges to Safety, a collaboratively run victim service center, and an array of multi-disciplinary models which include preventing the use of firearms in domestic crimes and throughout our community, a mental health service delivery model to better protect and serve victims experiencing mental health challenges, and a Domest...
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