Committee on Women and Gender Equity

This bill would require the Mayor to establish an Office of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression (“SOGIE”). The SOGIE Office would promote City programs, and community outreach and education, with respect to issues of concern to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, nonbinary, gender nonconforming and other individuals identified by the director of the Office.

This bill would require the Office to End Gender Based Violence to create an informational resource for newly married individuals that details their legal rights as it pertains to divorce and annulment of such marriage as well as available domestic violence resources. The bill requires the Office to End Gender Based Violence to provide this resource to the Office of the City Clerk and for the City Clerk to distribute this resource when issuing a marriage certificate and post on its website.

This bill would require the Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence (ENDGBV) to publish a report every two years, beginning in January 2028, regarding an analysis of data regarding gender-based violence in New York City. Such analysis would include an analysis of any disparities by race, ethnicity, sex, or gender of the individuals involved in the reports of such gender-based violence.

This bill would require the Mayor’s Office to End Gender-Based Violence (ENDGBV), in consultation with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), to compile and review all existing data related to gender-based violence (GBV), including domestic violence, and then develop a report with recommendations for agencies to improve the collection and integration of data on GBV. The bill would also require ENDGBV, in consultation with DOHMH, to develop an outreach program to survey healthcare providers regarding GBV screening practices and provide information to integrate trauma-informed practice into the screenings, and then to report on the practices of the healthcare providers. In addition, the bill would require ENDGBV to develop a data dashboard to share data from city and state agencies around GBV. Finally, the bill would require the Department of Homeless Services and the Administration for Child Services to report on their practices around screenings for GBV and number of screenings for GBV that led to services or referrals related to GBV.

This bill would require the Department of Information and Technology (DoITT) to create a policy that requires all domestic violence-related 311 complaints to be automatically transferred to the New York City Domestic Violence Hotline (DV hotline), and to add a menu option to the 311 telephone menu to allow callers to be automatically connected to the DV hotline.

This bill would provide domestic violence survivors who are in danger of losing their home due to their status as a domestic violence survivor with rental assistance through CityFHEPS, if they do not qualify for any other rental assistance program and have a gross income at or below 400% of the federal poverty level and meet other requirements as determined by the Human Resources Administration or the Department of Homeless Services.

This bill would require the report on anti-sexual harassment trainings at city agencies from Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) to provide the number of employees trained, related information about the employees trained, and information about the training. The bill would also require the report on workplace sexual harassment within city agencies to include information about the outcomes of substantiated sexual harassment complaints, the positions of the individuals bringing complaints, anonymized to protect all parties’ privacy. Finally, the bill would repeal Local Law 101 of 2018 relating to the climate surveys and action plans to combat sexual harassment and equal employment opportunity violations at city agencies; the bill would establish future requirements regarding climate surveys and action plans and related reporting requirements.

This bill would create an affirmative defense to a charge for parking where parking is prohibited by a posted sign in cases where a doula or midwife is engaged in a house call providing maternal health services at the time, and at or around the location, where the violation occurred. This does not create an affirmative defense for parking where parking is prohibited by rule or where stopping or standing are prohibited by a posted sign or rule.

This bill would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to establish a menstrual health program that would offer screenings for endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome to patients displaying symptoms of these disorders. The bill would also allow DOHMH to make appropriate referrals for services related to endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome. The bill additionally would expand the list of sexual health topics about which DOHMH must provide outreach, education, and support to include endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome.

This bill would establish a task force to study the gender pay disparity and economic self-sufficiency among the labor force in the city and to make recommendations on how to decrease the gender pay disparity and increase economic self-sufficiency. The task force would be required to submit a report to the Mayor and the Council one year after the first meeting of the task force.