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COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
5:00 PM
City Hall, Room 408
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102
Members Present
Vice President Williams
Commissioner Andrea Evan
Commissioner Dorka Keehn
Commissioner Jing Xu Lee
Commissioner Carolene Marks
Staff Present
Executive Director Emily Murase, PhD
Executive Assistant Bernice Casey
Grants Administrator Richard Eijima
CEDAW Analyst Kim-Shree Maufas
Justice & Courage Analyst Colleen Montoya
I. CALL TO ORDER/ AGENDA CHANGES
Vice President Williams called the meeting at 5:10 pm.
No public comment.
II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Action: Approved draft minutes from February 22, 2006. m/s/c (Keehn/Marks/Unanimous)
No public comment.
III. PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Vice President Williams announced that the April 26, 2006 Commission meeting would be held in the community.
IV. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
A. Executive Director
Executive Director Murase provided the Commission a written report summarizing the work of the Department in the following areas: Justice & Courage, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Public Outreach, Violence Against Women (VAW) Grants, Department Operations, and Upcoming Events.
Dr. Murase announced that the Department had been awarded a $200,000 grant from Blue Shield Foundation for a Domestic Violence Cross Training Institute, an idea which originated from the Justice & Courage Resources Committee.
B. Staff Report-Executive Assistant Bernice Casey
Ms. Casey provided an overview of the events staff attended in recognition of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month.
C. Violence Against Women (VAW) Partner Agency Profile-Women in Dialogue
Coordinator Rachel West stated that the funding from the Department helped to provide preventive outreach and education services to sex workers. Women in Dialogue provided these workers with a safe, non-judgmental environment. Ms. West stated that the criminalization of prostitutes impacted mothers, poor women, women of color, and immigrant women. With current funding, the agency hired a part-time staff person. In addition, they distributed over 700 brochures about services to homeless and transgender women. Ms. West stated that she has presented before the Board of Supervisors, the Human Rights Commission, the Immigrant Rights Commission, and the Youth Commission about their work. Dr. Murase acknowledged the tremendous outreach efforts undertaken by Women in Dialogue.
V. CONSENT AGENDA
All matters listed hereunder constitute a Consent Agenda and are considered to be routine by the Commission on the Status of Women. They will be acted upon by a single roll call vote of the Commission. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a member of the Commission so requests, in which event the matter shall be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered as a separate item. Members of the public may speak on each item listed on the Consent Agenda.
Commissioner Marks asked why San Francisco Women Against Rape (SFWAR) and Rape Trauma Center (RTC) were the only agencies being recognized for Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Executive Assistant Casey informed the Commission that SFWAR and RTC were the two agencies in the community whose primary focus was on combating sexual assault.
Action: To approve the Consent Agenda. m/s/c (Keehn/Evans/Unanimous)
A. Res. 2006-008: Resolution recognizing April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
B. Res. 2006-009: Resolution recognizing the “It’s Never This Obvious” Conference on Domestic Violence and conference organizers Stephanie Manfre and Lisa Sapiro.
C. Res. 2006-010: Resolution recognizing posthumously the work of Tanya Neiman, Director of the San Francisco Bar Association Volunteer Legal Service Program.
D. Res. 2006-011: Resolution recognizing posthumously the work of Mary Helen Rogers, a leading community advocate in the Western Addition neighborhood.
E. Res. 2006-012: Resolution recognizing April 25, 2006 as Equal Pay Day, marking the point in the year at which women reach pay equity with men.
F. Res. 2006-013: Resolution recognizing April 27, 2006 as Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day.
VI. NEW BUSINESS
A. SafeHouse
Executive Director Debra Salan provided the Commission with an overview of the work and history of her organization, SafeHouse, which provides services and housing to former sex workers. Dr. Salan said the agency provided intensive therapy and a full-time, out-patient day treatment for up to six months for clients. The training component focuses on education, money management, and life skills. The SafeHouse is one of less than ten agencies nationwide that address this population. Dr. Salan said she hoped to build stronger relationships between SafeHouse and individuals and organizations within the women’s community.
B. Use of Budget Surplus
Executive Director Murase discussed the Department’s meeting with Allen Nance, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ) in the context of strategies for spending the budget surplus in the area of violence prevention. Dr. Murase acknowledged the work of Beverly Upton and Beckie Masaki for bringing attention to domestic violence and sexual assault [and to include domestic violence and sexual assault in the prevention piece] before the Board of Supervisors. Dr. Murase reported that Supervisor Ma would be forwarding a $1.2 million line item to include domestic violence and sexual assault and allocating the monies to MOCJ.
Vice President Williams asked if the community had an opportunity to provide input [on how surplus monies should be spent]. Executive Director Murase replied that the community had been brought to the table in different forums. Commissioner Keehn asked why the money was going to be allocated to MOCJ.
Dr. Murase stated that the process for distributing the funds [budget surplus] was not solid, but the Department would be working with MOCJ.
VII. OLD BUSINESS
A. Labor Conditions of Exotic Dancers
Commissioner Evans reviewed the enforcement matrix and Commonly Asked Questions memo in the Commissioners’ packet. Dr. Murase stated that the Department had spoken to several Supervisors about introducing the legislation. She said that if we were unable to obtain supervisor sponsorship that the Commission can introduce the legislation. Dr. Murase encouraged the Commissioners to meet with the Supervisors to discuss the legislation and the budget surplus. Executive Assistant Casey asked the Commissioners to contact her and she would make appointments.
Public Comment
Daisy Anarchy thanked the Commissions for its continued word. She stated that Danny, the Gold Club manager, had told dancers [who attended the January and February 2006 Commission meetings] that they would get stage fees waived for four night shifts if they attended meetings. In addition, he provided talking points to the dancers. Ms. Anarchy said that BSE Management had posted a flyer at some of their club sites, which totally misrepresented the Commission, its work on the legislation, and named her by [her legal] name in an attempt to frighten dancers from coming forward. Ms. Anarchy said she provided a copy of the poster to the Department.
Maxine Doogan with the Erotic Services Providers stated that she has set up a dancers’ page on her organization’s web-site, www.espu-ca.org. The page includes labor law and labor codes which address the working conditions of the exotic dancers.
B. Police Videos
Executive Director Murase said that she had no news to report on the Blue Ribbon Task Force and added that the Human Rights Commission (HRC) was also unaware of any new developments. Dr. Murase had learned that the two top people selected to chair the Task Force had declined.
No public comment.
Commissioner Keehn departed at 6:05 p.m.
VIII. REPORTS
A. Health
Commissioner Marks reported that she had attended a meeting with Department of Public Health Director Mitch Katz, MD, to discuss the Universal Health Care Initiative. In addition, she was working with Volunteers in Medicine, an organization that provides free health care to working adults. Commissioner Marks apologized for missing the presentation by the Partner Agencies on their disaster preparedness planning, and stated she had reviewed their presentations in the meeting minutes.
No public comment.
Commissioner Lee departed at 6:10 p.m.
B. Justice & Courage
Executive Director Murase directed the Commission to her Executive Director’s Report for a full report on Justice & Courage. She recognized Justice & Courage Policy Analyst Colleen Montoya, Graduate Policy Intern Lisa Sapiro, Commissioner Keehn, and Commissioner Lee for their work on the media roundtable.
No public comment.
C. CEDAW
Vice President Williams reported the CEDAW Committee had reviewed gender analysis at its previous meeting. She said that the next meeting would be on April 13 and the Committee review reports submitted by the City departments who participated in the 2001 Gender Analysis report.
No public comment.
D. VAW Grants Program
The report was postponed to the April 26, 2006 meeting.
No public comment.
E. Friends
Vice President Williams said the Friends were currently working on a strategic plan.
No public comment.
F. Economic Development
Vice President Williams said that she had been meeting with staff from Women’s Initiative to learn more about the economic status of women in San Francisco.
No public comment.
IX. PUBLIC COMMENT
No public comment.
X. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 6:20 p.m.
American Sign Language interpreters and a Sound Amplification System provided upon request with 48-hour advance notice to
415- American Sign Language interpreters and a Sound Amplification System provided upon request with 48-hour advance notice to
415-252-2570. Translation into languages other than English is also available with 48-hour notice. Limited accessible street parking available. Accessible MUNI Metro station in the Van Ness Station and lines are J, K, L, M and N. Accessible MUNI Lines are the 6, 7, 9, 42, 47, 49, and 71 lines. Accessible seating for persons with disabilities (including those using wheelchairs) will be available. Meeting proceedings available in alternative formats. In order to assist the City's efforts to accommodate persons with severe allergies, environmental illness, multiple chemical sensitivity or related disabilities, attendees at public meetings are reminded that other attendees may be sensitive to various chemical based products. Please help the City to accommodate these individuals. To obtain a disability-related modification or accommodation, including auxiliary aids or services, to participate in the meeting, please contact the Department on the Status of Women at least two business days before the meeting at 415-252-2570 (Voice) or 415-252-2550 (TTD). The Board of Supervisors has amended the Sunshine Ordinance by adding provision 67A.1. The provision is effective as of January 21, 2001.
The ringing of and use of cell phones, pagers, and similar sound producing electronic devices are prohibited at this meeting. Please be advised that the Chair may order the removal from the meeting room of any person(s) responsible for the ringing or use of a cell phone, pager or other similar sound-producing electronic devices.
Explanatory documents: For copies of explanatory documents listed in this agenda, and other related materials received by COSW, please contact the Department on the Status of Women at 25 Van Ness Ave, Suite 130, San Francisco, CA 94102; phone: 415-252-2570, fax: 415-252-2575. Also, to the extent possible, documents will be available on the COSW website at http://www.sfgov.org/cosw.
Know Your Rights under the Sunshine Ordinance (Chapter 67 of the San Francisco Administrative Code)
Government’s duty is to serve the public, reaching its decision in full view of the public. Commissions, boards, councils and other agencies of the City and County exist to conduct the people’s business. This ordinance assures that deliberations are conducted before the people and that City operations are open to the people’s review. For more information on your rights under the Sunshine Ordinance, or to report a violation of the Ordinance, contact the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force at 415-554-7724. To obtain a free copy of the Sunshine Ordinance contact the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force, City Hall, Room 244, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, CA 94102-4689, phone: 415-554-7724, fax: 415-554-7854. Copies of the Sunshine Ordinance can also be obtained from the San Francisco Public Library and on the City’s website at www.sfgov.org.
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Individuals and entities that influence or attempt to influence local legislative or administrative action may be required by the San Francisco Lobbyist Ordinance [SF Campaign & Governmental Conduct Code § 2.100] to register and report lobbying activity. For more information about the Lobbyist Ordinance, please contact the San Francisco Ethics Commission at 30 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 3900, San Francisco, CA 94102; telephone (415) 581-2300; fax (415) 581-2317; web site: sfgov.org/ethics.
