The Department has made ending violence against women a priority program area. This relates to the CEDAW principle stating that all women have the right to bodily integrity. The work of the Department in this program area comes in several forms.

Violence Against Women Prevention and Intervention (VAW) Grants Program
About 3/4 of the Department's annual budget goes towards funding community-based organizations doing work to prevent or intervene in cases of violence against women and girls in San Francisco.
A Strategic Plan for Twenty-First Century San Francisco
Contact List of Partner Agencies in the VAW Grants Program FY2008-2011

Justice and Courage
TheJustice and Courage Project, a committee of the Commission on the Status of Women, seeks to end domestic violence by coordinating the system-wide response to this epidemic.

Family Violence Council
The Family Violence Council is a meeting body reformed in 2007 to address violence throughout the lifespan in San Francisco, including child abuse, domestic violence, and elder/dependent adult abuse.

Publications and Outreach
The Department created the 'Respect is Sexy' Ad Campaign and the "Every 9 Seconds" Domestic Violence Resource Guide to educate the public about violence against women.

Reports
The following reports were commissioned by the Department to illuminate the issue of violence against women and girls in San Francisco:
Creating a Safer San Francisco: Integrating Multicultural Strategies to End Violence Against Women and Girls (2007 Needs Assessment) (pdf)
Violence Against Women and Girls in San Francisco: Meeting the Needs of Survivors (Also available as a PDF)
Out Of Sight/Out Of Mind Task Force On Girls And The Juvenile Justice System
2009 Census of Domestic Violence Services in San Francisco - Report on a 24-hour survey of domestic violence help-seeking in San Francisco.