Oakland Plans to Fund Gender-based Violence Support
Oakland has often led California and the nation in reform for a better response to health-related issues. Notably, in March 2021 the Oakland City Council voted to put the Mobile Assistance Community Responders of Oakland, a mental health crisis response that is an alternative to calling the police, under the city’s Fire Department, something that made national news. Oakland has not stopped there, however. Recently, Oakland has noted that there is a huge response needed for gender-based violence in the community and has begun to take action to address these needs.
Shocking statistics from the pandemic have been making their way into the public psyche, and these last two years have notably been a difficult time for women in the East Bay. Oakland reported that in 2020, “Shootings with injury increased by 60 percent from 2019. From June to December 2020, Oakland experienced over 100 shootings each month. Female-identified shooting victims increased by 77%.”
When focusing specifically on intimate partner violence (IVP) during the pandemic, the report also notes that “A significant uptick in calls to Oakland’s 24-hour domestic violence hotline when the local shelter in-place orders went into effect in 2020. Requests for services rose 36% from mid-March to end of June 2020 and the increase in need for services continues.”
In response to the gender-based violence that Oakland has endured, the City of Oakland formed a Department of Violence Prevention (DVP) in 2017. While the department is not working exclusively to address IVP, the issue is one of its major focuses. By creating this department, Oakland has shown that it is making their response to gender-based violence a priority, and a funded one at that.
After conducting a series of town halls, the DVP has laid out their plans for the next two years. Their “Spending Plan” has three tiers, the first of which focuses on spending $2.2 million on key support for survivors of gender-based violence. Here is Tier 1’s goals:
· 24-hour Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Survivor Hotline
· Legal Advocacy for IPV
· Bedside Advocacy for IPV
· Increased Cultural and linguistic capacity for IPV
· Drop-in Center and Life Coaching for Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)
· Emergency Shelter/Safe Space for both CSE and IPV
· Therapeutic Support for both CSE and IPV
Tier 2 and Tier 3 plan to build on these goals once Tier 1 is in place and more funding is available. A Safe Place is proud to have been a part of grassroots fight to make Intimate Partner Violence a priority in Oakland. Carolyn Russell, A Safe Place’s Executive Director, a founding member of the coalition for Oakland Violence Prevention Coalition. The work Russell and A Safe Place does focuses on not only supporting current survivors of domestic violence, but also stopping the cycle of abuse from continuing into the next generation. A Safe Place is proud that Oakland is making gender-based violence a priority and will continue to work with the city in order to support survivors of violence.
