Taina Bien-Aimé testifies against downgrading NGBV

Hello.

Thank you, Chair for EAS and members of the City Council for this opportunity to testify today.

My name is Taina Bien-Aimé.

I'm the Executive Director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, one of the oldest international organizations dedicated to prevent and end the trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and girls worldwide.

We do so through legal advocacy and working with a global survivor leadership network.

We oppose the downgrading of the NGBV commission and its commissioner, which is couched as a simple integration under the Office of Community Safety.

Gender-based violence is not a simple subset of general crime or community safety.

It is a pervasive and grave human rights violation, often perpetrated by members of the community, which requires highly specialized expertise.

dedicated institutional infrastructure, and targeted investments.

The data in our city reflects the critical need for a standalone and independent NGBV commission and commissioner, whether in cases of intimate partner and domestic violence,

sex crimes and rape, which are increasing in New York City, and specifically for

for our organization, the Trafficking in Human Beings for Sexual Exploitation, an acute crisis in New York City that is being largely unaddressed and whose victims are overwhelmingly women.

I'd also like to take a few seconds to thank the survivors on this panel and in this room for your courage and your leadership and for sharing with the city your lived experiences that will hopefully help us develop

comprehensive policies to prevent and end gender-based violence.

Just on the few testimonies, the searing testimonies we heard today of the brave survivors, it is clear that New York City cannot afford

to address gender-based violence, sexual assault, and commercial sexual exploitation as mere footnotes to public safety and municipal budgeting.

Dismantling, weakening, or merging this specialized commission would signal to survivors that their safety and rights are not front and center to the political will of our city.

We therefore urge the city of New York to maintain and strengthen the

NGBV Commission as a specialized entity headed by a commissioner.

And please listen to survivors.

Thank you.