Section 8-901
§ 8-901 Short Title. This local law shall be known as the "Victims of
Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act".
Section 8-902
§ 8-902 Declaration of Legislative Findings and Intent.
Gender-motivated violence inflicts serious physical, psychological,
emotional and economic harm on its victims. Congressional findings have
documented that gender-motivated violence is widespread throughout the
United States, representing the leading cause of injuries to women ages
15 to 44. Further statistics have shown that three out of four women
will be the victim of a violent crime sometime during their lives, and
as many as four million women a year are victims of domestic violence.
Senate hearings, various task forces and the United States Department of
Justice have concluded that victims of gender-motivated violence
frequently face a climate of condescension indifference and hostility in
the court system and have documented the legal system's hostility
towards sexual assault and domestic violence claims.
Recognizing this widespread problem, Congress in 1994 provided victims
of gender-motivated violence with a cause of action in federal court
through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) (42 USC § 13981). In a May
15, 2000 decision, the United States Supreme Court held that the
Constitution provided no basis for a federal cause of action by victims
of gender-motivated violence against their perpetrators either under the
Commerce Clause or the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment. In so ruling the Court held that it could "think of no better
example of the police power, which the Founders denied the National
Government and reposed in the States, than the suppression of violent
crime and vindication of its victims."
In light of the void left by the Supreme Court's decision, this
Council finds that victims of gender-motivated violence should have a
private right of action against their perpetrators under the
Administrative Code. This private right of action aims to resolve the
difficulty that victims face in seeking court remedies by providing an
officially sanctioned and legitimate cause of action for seeking redress
for injuries resulting from gender-motivated violence.
Section 8-903
§ 8-903 Definitions. For purposes of this chapter:
a. "Crime of violence" means an act or series of acts that would
constitute a misdemeanor or felony against the person as defined in
state or federal law or that would constitute a misdemeanor or felony
against property as defined in state or federal law if the conduct
presents a serious risk of physical injury to another, whether or not
those acts have actually resulted in criminal charges, prosecution, or
conviction.
b. "Crime of violence motivated by gender" means a crime of violence
committed because of gender or on the basis of gender, and due, at least
in part, to an animus based on the victim's gender.
Section 8-904
§ 8-904 Civil Cause of Action. Except as otherwise provided by law,
any person claiming to be injured by an individual who commits a crime
of violence motivated by gender as defined in section 8-903 of this
chapter, shall have a cause of action against such individual in any
court of competent jurisdiction for any or all of the following relief:
1. compensatory and punitive damages;
2. injunctive and declaratory relief;
3. attorneys' fees and costs;
4. such other relief as a court may deem appropriate.
Section 8-905
§ 8-905 Limitations. a. A civil action under this chapter must be
commenced within seven years after the alleged crime of violence
motivated by gender as defined in section 8-903 of this chapter
occurred. If, however, due to injury or disability resulting from an act
or acts giving rise to a cause of action under this chapter, or due to
infancy as defined in the civil procedure law and rules, a person
entitled to commence an action under this chapter is unable to do so at
the time such cause of action accrues, then the time within which the
action must be commenced shall be extended to seven years after the
inability to commence the action ceases.
b. Except as otherwise permitted by law, nothing in this chapter
entitles a person to a cause of action for random acts of violence
unrelated to gender or for acts that cannot be demonstrated, by
preponderance of the evidence, to be motivated by gender as defined in
section 8-903.
c. Nothing in this section requires a prior criminal complaint,
prosecution or conviction to establish the elements of a cause of action
under this chapter.
Section 8-906
§ 8-906 Burden of Proof. Conviction of a crime arising out of the same
transaction, occurrence or event giving rise to a cause of action under
this chapter shall be considered conclusive proof of the underlying
facts of that crime for purposes of an action brought under this
chapter. That such crime was a crime of violence motivated by gender
must be proved by a preponderance of the evidence.
Section 8-907
§ 8-907 Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause,
phrase or other portion of this local law is, for any reason, declared
unconstitutional or invalid, in whole or in part, by any court of
competent jurisdiction such portion shall be deemed severable, and such
unconstitutionality or invalidity shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this law, which remaining portions shall continue
in full force and effect.