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Advocates and survivors urge funding, shelters, trauma-informed courts and data transparency
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Summary
Victim-service organizations and survivors asked council for sustained funding, more shelter and relocation options, trauma-informed training for judges and officers, remote testimony options, streamlined PFAs and interpreter access, and an annual state-of-the-city domestic-violence report to track outcomes.
A broad coalition of victim-service providers and survivors urged Philadelphia City Council to convert the hearing's urgency into funding and process changes that survivors can use today.
Joanna Otero Cruz, executive director of Women Against Abuse, summarized six priority reforms: survivor-centered safety, assigning domestic-violence cases to experienced prosecutors through sentencing, improved victim engagement with consistent ADA contact, expedited warrants and PFA/gun-surrender procedures, embedded social supports (childcare, transportation), and timely, citywide data to measure results. "The victim should have the same ADA from the preliminary hearing through sentencing," she said.
Service providers described everyday failures that undermine trust in the system: clients who are lectured by responding officers, victims who arrive to court and find cases postponed for lack of interpreters, and callers to hotlines who cannot reach an operator. Advocates asked that the city permanently fund the Office of Domestic Violence Strategies, expand the Philadelphia Sexual Assault Response Center (PSARC) funding and ensure justice-system data is shared with providers.
Survivors recounted the human consequences. Jamie Miller of Philly Self Defense described losing custody battles after being forced to reveal confidential shelter addresses; Samaya Payton told the committee that her sister Sakia Patton was murdered in 2021 after police failed to act decisively when warning signs were present. Advocates and survivors argued those stories show the city must prioritize prevention, housing and consistent court protections as urgently as changes to policing and prosecution.
Council members thanked witnesses and committed to convening smaller workgroups to turn recommendations into timelines and budget requests. Providers pressed for a single, public-facing explanation of how PFAs and firearm relinquishment work so petitioners know what to expect when they seek help.
