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ANDREA SHORTER
President
KAY GULBENGAY
Vice President
DORKA KEEHN
Commissioner
CAROLENE MARKS
Commissioner
KATHERINE MUNTER
Commissioner
BARBARA SKLAR
Commissioner
JULIE SOO
Commissioner
EMILY MURASE, PhD
Executive Director
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COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
5:00 PM
City Hall, Room 408
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102
Members Present Staff Present
President Andrea Shorter Executive Director Emily Murase, PhD
Commissioner Dorka Keehn Administrative Analyst Laura Marshall
Vice President Carolene Marks Grants Administrator Carol Sacco
Commissioner Barbara Sklar Commission Secretary Cynthia Vasquez
Commissioner Julie Soo
Excused: Vice President Kay Gulbengay and Commissioner Katherine Munter
I. CALL TO ORDER/ AGENDA CHANGES
President Shorter welcomed all present and recognized Commissioner Sklar. Commissioner Sklar announced that that she will be resigning from the Commission and will be transitioning to serve on the Arts Commission. President Shorter stated that Commissioner Sklar will be missed, but that she looks forward to her continuing service to the City on the Arts Commission. Commissioner Marks expressed her thanks to Commissioner Sklar for her work.
Action: Approved agenda.
m/s/c (Shorter/Keehn/Unanimous)
No public comment.
II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Action: Approved amended minutes from July 29, 2009.
m/s/c (Keehn/Sklar/Unanimous)
No public comment.
III. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Dr. Murase referred Commissioners to her written report and reported that all of the contract amendments for the Violence Against Women (VAW) Grants Program have been processed by the Department and are ready for the City Attorney’s signature. Dr. Murase acknowledged Grants Administrator Carol Sacco for her work in getting all contracts processed. On August 3, Ms. Sacco attended a press conference held by Senator Leland Yee and domestic violence advocates at the Family Violence Prevention Fund to oppose the Governor’s elimination of the California Department of Public Health's Domestic Violence Program. Senator Yee announced legislation to help save the domestic violence programs and shelters and is currently gathering co-sponsorship on this legislation.
Dr. Murase announced that the VAW Partner Agency Meeting has been postponed to a new date in January that is to be announced. In honor of October being Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the Department will be holding the 2nd annual cell phone drive. We will work with the Department of the Environment and department Recycling Coordinators to raise awareness about the cell phone drive that benefits domestic violence survivors.
President Andrea Shorter, Deputy Chief of Staff for the Mayor Catherine Dodd, Ms. Lehman and Dr. Murase met with Tina Tchen, Executive Director of White House Council on Women and Girls, on August 7 to discuss gender analysis and other women’s policy work in San Francisco.
1. Violence Against Women Prevention and Intervention (VAW) Grants Program 2008-09 Final Report
Dr. Murase referred the Commission to the written report which summarizes clients’ demographics and services provided by the VAW Grants Program.
2. Department on the Status of Women Annual Report
Dr. Murase presented the findings from the Department’s Annual Report. In the past year, the Department has accomplished the following:
· Convened a hearing on the Economic Crisis
· Advocated for the creation of women-only permanent supportive housing, and expanded services to African American homeless women by funding the Glide Foundation
· Held a gender responsive budgeting training with the Mayor’s Budget Office
· Launched an audit of disaggregated data collection by City departments
· Received updates on gender analysis from 4 city Departments
· Launched the San Francisco Gender Equality Principles (GEP) Initiative
· Hosted 3 GEP Roundtables with 17 companies participating
· Applied and received funding from Symantec to develop an interactive website for the GEP
· Co-hosted the 3rd Annual Women’s Policy Summit
· Co-hosted the Women in City Leadership Luncheon to honor retiring Police Chief Heather Fong
· Continued to implement the Justice and Courage Oversight Panel 2007 Safety Audit Report recommendations
· Convened the Family Violence Council on a quarterly basis
· Release the First Comprehensive Report on Family Violence in San Francisco
· Received the 2009 National Association of Counties Achievement Award
· Allocated $2.7 Million as a part of the Violence Against Women Grants Program.
Dr. Murase acknowledged and thanked the staff for their hard work and dedication.
Commissioner Keehn thanked the Department for the work and achievements presented by the Annual Report. President Shorter asked how the report would be disseminated. Dr. Murase reported that the report is available at the Departments website at www.sfgov.org/cosw and copies would be sent to the Mayor and to members of the Board of Supervisors.
IV. 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.
Dr. Isabel Wade thanked the Commission for the recognition.
Andrea Bible stated that it has been a privilege to work with incarcerated women survivors of domestic violence, for the past 6 years. She invited Commissioners to attend a viewing of a film on this subject at the Roxy Theater on Saturday, September 12.
Commissioner Marks suggested that resolutions be presented at community events which will give more visibility of the Commission.
Commissioner Keehn thanked Dr. Wade and Andrea Bible for their contributions.
Action: To approve the Consent Agenda.
m/s/c (Marks/Keehn/Unanimous)
V. REPORTS
A. Health
Commissioner Marks highlighted the most recent issue of the New York Times Magazine which focused on women’s health and economic security globally by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. She asked that copies of this issue be provided to Commissioners. Dr. Murase offered to scan articles and e-mail them to Commissioners. Commissioner Keehn stated that the articles in the issue are extensive and pointed out that the issue is available on-line.
Commissioner Marks reported that the Clinic by the Bay is coming along. The facility, to be located in the Excelsior, will be staffed by volunteer doctors to provide free medical services. She further reported that Jewish and Muslim Women (JAM) will be celebrating the New Year together. Commissioner Marks announced that she is working on a town hall meeting scheduled for October 2 for African American women under 40 to access breast cancer diagnoses and treatment. She is also pursuing services for pancreatic cancer. Commissioner Marks continues to serve on the advisory board for Healthy San Francisco which has recently attracted considerable national attention as part of the debate on healthcare reform. She is also active in breast cancer work at UC San Francisco as a survivor advocate.
B. Justice & Courage
Commissioner Keehn reported that the Strategic Planning retreat will be held on October 7 at the Global Fund for Women.
C. Women's Human Rights Treaty
Dr. Murase reported that the next Gender Equality Principles Roundtable will be held in November.
D. Violence Against Women (VAW) Prevention and Intervention Grants Program
Dr. Murase directed Commissioners to the FY2008-2009 Final Report on the VAW Grants Program and asked that they review the results.
Commissioner Keehn requested clarification about the Partner Agencies dissatisfaction with this year’s contracting process. Dr. Murase explained that the Partner Agencies sought a change to established policy so that they could receive the full grant amounts at the beginning of the fiscal year. Unfortunately, established policy could not be changed due to the Controller’s audit findings that requite the Department to follow all City accounting procedures.
E. Family Violence Council
Administrative Analyst Laura Marshall provided a summary of the last Family Violence Council meeting. The Council discussed the First Comprehensive Report on Family Violence in San Francisco, 2009, which is available at the Departments website. Many members wanted more information about the framing of the Report, and a follow-up meeting was held on August 13 to discuss the framework for the next report and how to move forward on the recommendations contained within the Report. The next meeting will be October 15 at 3 pm.
VI. OLD BUSINESS
A. Gender Analysis of Commissions and Boards
Ms. Marshall provided an overview of the gender analysis of Commissions in San Francisco. Ms. Marshall acknowledged Policy Analyst Anu Menon for her work gathering and compiling the information for the report.
The 2009 gender analysis documents the number of self-identified women, minorities, and people with disabilities currently serving on the approximately 58 commissions and boards in San Francisco. The total number of commissions and boards is an approximation because, in a few cases, data sources did not verify the current existence and makeup of these bodies.
There are 36 commissions in San Francisco, with data verified for 33. Of these 33 commissions:
· 271 of a possible 277 seats are currently filled,
· 50% of appointees are female,
· 50% of appointees identified as a racial minority,
· 4% of appointees identified as having a disability, and
· 2%, or 4 appointees, identified as transgendered.
There are 22 boards in San Francisco, with data verified for 15. Of these 15 boards:
· 131 of a possible 139 seats are currently filled
· 34% of appointees are female, with 66% male,
· 31% of appointees identified as a racial minority,
· 5% of appointees identified as having a disability, and
· 0% of appointees identified as transgendered.
Of the 33 commissions analyzed in this report, 17 had at least 50% appointees of color. The percentage of female board appointments is 15% lower than the percentage of women in the population. The 2007 gender analysis revealed similar trends in the gender make-up of commissions and boards. Data on race and disability was not analyzed in 2007. While the percentage of female appointees to Commissions remains consistently near the number of women in San Francisco, in 2009, the percentage of females on boards was 15% lower than that of the females in San Francisco and 4% lower than in 2007. As the gender, race, and disability status of appointees to these entities, is challenging to access and often out of date, transparency requirements should be created so that this public information is regularly maintained by each entity and made available to comply with the Sunshine Ordinance and good government practices.
The recommendations are as follow:
- Voluntary Data Collection - Commissions and boards should voluntarily collect gender, race, and disability information of appointees for the biennial gender analysis. Systems should be put into place.
- Vacancy Announcements - The City must expand the transparency of seat vacancies.
- Reflecting San Francisco’s Diversity in its Appointed Bodies - Special emphasis should be placed on appointing women, minorities, and persons with disabilities to serve on entities where they are not traditionally found.
Commissioner Soo suggested that a data template be distributed to departments to facilitate the data gathering.
Dr. Murase suggested that the Commission consider adopting a resolution recommendation legislation that mandates agencies to provide this data. Commissioner Keehn stated that legislation may not be necessary given that the gender analysis report is charter-mandated. Commissioner Marks reported that, in the past, the Mayor’s Office released a list of Commissions. Commissioner Marks suggested setting up a meeting with the Liaison to Boards and Commissions to request an accurate list of current Commissions and Boards.
President Shorter urged that the following be considered: 1) the difference between Commissions and Boards, 2) the size of budgets under the control of the individual Commissions and Boards, 3) improved data gathering to identify LGBTQQ. She asked that the item be further discussed in September. President Shorter also emphasized the importance of having women on Commissions/Board that may have an impact or authority to specifically provide opportunities for women and girls to advance.
Dr. Murase stated that budget information can be added to the report. Commissioner Sklar urged that this information be presented to the Commission in advance of a Commission resolution on the report’s recommendations.
VII. NEW BUSINESS
A. Update on Community Needs Assessment
Janelle White, Executive Director, and Amal Kouttab, Director of Community Initiatives, both of San Francisco Women Against Rape, provided an update on the Community Needs Assessment Report. Ms. White explained that the report was made possible by funding from the Department and the California Department of Public Health.
The Community Initiatives Program arose out of the recognition that a single response to sexual violence was inadequate. Phase I of the project involved extensive research on the diverse communities in San Francisco and was completed in 2006. The 3 neighborhoods reporting the highest rates of violence were the 1) Inner Mission, 2) South of Market/Tenderloin, and 3) Bayview/Hunter’s Point. The project identified 5 populations that experienced severe levels of interpersonal violence: 1) homeless or marginally housed (e.g., SRO residents) individuals, 2) immigrant women, 3) women in prison/formerly incarcerated, 4) young women, and 5) queer women of color.
Phase II of the project involved extensive focus groups and key informant interviews conducted in partnership with anthropology students from Mills College. There was a broad coalition of representatives from various agencies, including Mujeres Unidas y Activas, San Francisco State University, and California Coalition for Women Prisoners, who served on an advisory task force.
President Shorter and Commissioner Marks inquired about violence committed by state actors. Ms. White explained that there are documented reports of high levels of violence within the prison system.
Ms. Kouttab explained that she is finalizing the report which contains over 200 pages of findings and resources. In response to President Shorter and Commissioner Marks’ question, Ms. Kouttab responded that within the men’s correctional system, there is a high incidence of inmate on inmate sexual violence, whereas in the women’s correctional system, the violence tended to be perpetrated by correctional officers on women inmates. In particular, transgender women placed in men’s prisons experienced very high levels of violence.
Ms. Kouttab further highlighted the pervasiveness of violence that youth experience, particularly cyber-violence. She explained that there is extensive cyber bullying that has resulted in lethal consequences, including suicide. She concluded that one of the highpoints of the research was community resilience and the strengths that existed within the community.
Commissioner Marks asked how the Commission could act on the report’s recommendations. Ms. White emphasized that the Commission’s continued funding of prevention education efforts is very important.
Commissioner Keehn asked what findings were most surprising. Ms. Kouttab stated that most of the findings were familiar to staff who worked on these issues on a daily basis. However, the project’s framework of intersectionality forced renewed recognition of overlapping issues and solutions. Ms. White highlighted a specific problem related to the fact that SRO’s do not routinely re-key rooms when residents change. She stated that this creates huge safety risks. Ms. Kouttab also stated that a major recommendation that arose out of the focus groups was the need for an emergency shelter dedicated to LGBTQQ individuals.
B. Report on Accessible Services for Latinas
Juana Flores, Co-Director of Programs, Maria Luna, and Maria del Pilar Fudela of Mujeres Unidas y Activas provided an overview of the report Echo of Silence: Raising Our Voice. Commissioner Keehn explained that Ms. Flores had previously served on the Justice & Courage Oversight Panel. Ms. Flores thanked the Commission for the opportunity to present the results of the report. She defined violence very broadly to include
domestic violence, economic violence, and community violence. She identified women and children as the groups most affected by violence. One of the objectives of the report was to understand why women were not accessing services when experiencing domestic violence. Immigrant Latina women faced numerous obstacles in accessing these services. Ms. Luna, a domestic violence survivor, has been with the agency since 1994. She explained that the report was very important to the community and included direct testimony from survivors.
The report includes statistics about the incidence of violence, available services, and recommendations. The agency surveyed 148 women. Of these, 4 out of 5 women experienced domestic violence, and 69% never accessed shelter services. Barriers included lack of outside employment, lack of alternative housing, and lack of knowledge about available services. Immigrant Latina women preferred options that did not require family separation and did not involve criminal justice agencies, primarily out of concern for their immigration status. The majority of women preferred support groups and therapy. Legal services were not accessed very often.
The agency issued 6 recommendations: 1) strengthen networks of community support, 2) recruit trained monolingual women for domestic violence service provision, 3) create and deepen collaborations with domestic violence shelters and other service organizations, 4) improve professional services, 5) respect and support different processes of healing, and 6) prioritize funding for community-based organizations and services. Ms. Luna concluded by stating that Department funding has expanded the capacity of the agency to train more individuals.
Commissioner Sklar congratulated the agency for the excellent report. She stated that this report and other presentations have made clear to her that there needs to be a focus on educating men and boys about non-violence. Commissioner Keehn explained that the Family Violence Prevention Fund has conducted a national ad campaign focused on prevention education among boys. Ms. Flores reported that her agency is working with batterer intervention programs such as POCOVI to address this issue, which is also part of the agency’s strategic planning. Commissioner Marks stated that the New York Times Magazine article mentioned that when a woman begins to earn an income, domestic violence tends to decrease. She also congratulated Ms. Flores. Ms. Luna elaborated that the agency does conduct programs directed to the boys and men in the family.
Commissioners Marks and Sklar departed at 7:15 pm.
Commissioner Keehn asked how the Commission can support the report’s findings. Ms. Flores stated the Commission must continue to support community collaboration among the domestic violence service providers. Her agency has recently engaged in a dialogue with the Asian Women’s Shelter to expand collaboration. There are 40 Latina women who have been trained to address domestic violence.
Commissioner Soo emphasized that domestic violence transcends economic class and even high-income women are affected by this problem.
C. Community Meeting
Dr. Murase explained that given reduced staffing and budget constraints, a meeting in the community (which would require translation resources) is not feasible.
Commissioner Soo suggested a joint meeting with the Immigrant Rights Commission to discuss outreach efforts on the upcoming census. President Shorter reported that she is the co-chair of the Census Committee and will be looking at this issue at a meeting this week. Commissioner Soo suggested a November timeframe for a meeting, possibly at the State Building, to include the state representative for the Complete Count effort of the census and members of the Immigrant Rights Commission.
VII. PUBLIC COMMENT
Commissioner Etta James of the Commission on Aging and Adult Service expressed concern over African American health issues, including hypertension, and older women living alone who are subject to elder abuse. In terms of the gender analysis of Commission, she reported that she has encouraged a female colleague on her Commission to serve on the Commission’s budget committee. She also urged Commissioners to convene an open meeting on Commission appointments.
Commissioner Soo directed Commissioner James to resources available on the Department website.
Emberly Cross of the Cooperative Restraining Order Clinic reported that, as part of the effort to pass Senate Bill 662 to restore funding to domestic violence shelters, community advocates are seeking alternative funding sources, Republican support, and a commitment from Speaker Karen Bass to assign the legislation to committee.
Commissioner Soo reported on the conference call to address healthcare reform convened by Tina Tchen, Executive Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls, and Katherine Sibelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services. She explained hat women typically spend 10% of their income on healthcare, so reform efforts will have a huge impact.
On Thursday, October 8, Rally Family Visitation Center is hosting a fundraising event to honor Tom Hennessey and Dr. Patricia Van Horn.
IX. ADJOURNMENT
President Shorter asked that the meeting be adjourned in memory of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Senator Ted Kennedy, both of whom contributed greatly to the country, and passed away this month.
Motion to adjourn.
m/s/c (Shorter/Soo/Unanimous).
The meeting adjourned at 7:35 pm.
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