The Committee on Women and Gender Equity heard testimony calling for improved, centralized data on domestic and gender-based violence citywide, and examined Intro 14-16, a bill proposed to increase access to and coordination of gender-based violence data across city agencies.

Council Member Farah Lewis framed the hearing as a review of data limitations and possible reforms. Saloni Sethi, commissioner of the Mayor's Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence (NGBV), described the office's current analytic work, including annual reporting, fatality reviews and management of a contract portfolio of prevention and intervention programs. Sethi said NGBV produces analyses using NYPD incident datasets, program-level data from contracted providers and periodic research, but noted important limitations: most city data rely on self-reporting and police contact, and survivors can opt not to disclose sensitive information.

Sethi said NGBV supports the intent of Intro 14-16 to increase access to data, but raised feasibility and privacy concerns and requested follow-up conversations with the council. Several advocates, including the Korean American Family Service Center, SAKHI for South Asian Survivors, the Violence Intervention Program, the LGBT Community Center and Her Justice, urged the council to require consistent, disaggregated, multilingual and trauma-informed data collection across agencies and contracted providers. Speakers emphasized that reliance on NYPD incident reports leaves out survivors who avoid law enforcement, including immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, and people of color.

Advocates proposed specific steps: standardize demographic fields (including sexual orientation and gender identity), publish interagency dashboards, incorporate data from hospitals, shelters, HRA, ACS and community-based organizations, and ensure language access. The committee discussed implementation burdens; NGBV and others noted administrative capacity constraints and the need to build or reconfigure data systems. A council budget office estimate for Intro 14-16 was referenced in questioning; committee members requested follow-up on the estimated costs and staffing necessary to implement the bill.

No committee vote was taken at the hearing; NGBV said it intends to continue collaboration with the council and city agencies on data coordination.