Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Hadeel Mishal, Lead Organizer of New York City Anti Violence Project on LGBTQ Hate Crimes and Police Interactions
9:31:33
ยท
171 sec
Hadeel Mishal, Lead Organizer at the New York City Anti Violence Project, testified about the rise in hate crimes against LGBTQ individuals and the challenges they face when interacting with law enforcement. She emphasized the need for funding service organizations that support LGBTQ victims of violence rather than increasing police presence.
- Hate crimes against LGBTQ individuals have doubled between 2018 and 2023, with significant increases in anti-gay and anti-transgender crimes.
- Mishal shared examples of LGBTQ clients facing difficulties when reporting violence to the police, including wrongful arrests and language barriers.
- The testimony highlighted the importance of community-led safety initiatives and continued partnership with the city council to support LGBTQ victims of violence.
Hadeel Mishal
9:31:33
Alright.
9:31:34
Good afternoon.
9:31:35
Well, good evening at this point.
9:31:37
Councilman Salam and the Committee on Public Safety, we appreciate the council's past support of our work with LGBTQ and HIV affected survivors of violence.
9:31:47
My name is Hadil Michal, and I am the lead organizer at the New York City Anti Violence Project.
9:31:52
AVP is the only LGBTQ specific victim service agency in the city.
9:31:58
We operate a bilingual 247 hotline and provide free and confidential legal services, counseling, community organizing, and advocacy.
9:32:07
We also provide professional trainings on how to create culturally responsive, inclusive, and affirming programs for our community.
9:32:16
HEAT crimes have been on the rise in New York City in the past five years with the numbers doubling between 2018 and 2023.
9:32:24
Anti gay hate crimes have risen by a 41% and hate crimes against transgender New Yorkers have risen by a 40%.
9:32:32
These numbers are underreported for a variety of reasons, language barriers, mistrust in the police, and fear of retaliation, just to name a few.
9:32:41
Time and time again, the solutions to violence that the city offers up is to increase the number of police officers.
9:32:47
Our answer is to keep funding service organizations like ours who do the hard work of helping clients report, access resources, and seek justice through the legal system.
9:32:57
For the LGBTQ community, oftentimes the police serve more as a barrier rather than help in cases of violence.
9:33:04
One of our clinicians' clients called the NYPD to report domestic violence and then was arrested instead because their partner weaponized, the client's mental health diagnosis.
9:33:15
Another incident was a Spanish speaking client who was drugged and sexually assaulted.
9:33:20
The police apparently did not take their report.
9:33:24
Our office had to contact the LGBTQ liaison who then supported the client with the report.
Darren Mack
9:33:30
Thank you.
9:33:30
Time's expired.
Hadeel Mishal
9:33:31
To go through this.
9:33:32
I'm sorry?
Darren Mack
9:33:33
Your time's expired.
Hadeel Mishal
9:33:35
Oh, okay.
9:33:36
I'll just wrap up.
9:33:38
Finally, I'll tell you about one more client, John.
9:33:41
John was wrongfully shot by an NYPD officer years ago.
9:33:44
He survived, but his injuries left him with a permanent physical disability and a lot of trauma.
9:33:49
The NYPD's internal investigation found the officer to be in the wrong.
9:33:54
He is an immigrant, despite living in the country for decades, there has been no movement on his asylum case.
9:34:00
He's being stonewalled by the NYPD in pursuit of his immigration status, and we are unable to serve justice in this way, and we have the capability to properly support our clients with your support.
9:34:15
So thank you for the opportunity to testify, and I hope we can come together to continue this partnership and build more community led safety initiatives.
9:34:24
Thank you.