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Resolution on Sexual Assault for the Jan. 31 Meeting

Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2019 8:00 am
by Alison Alter
Dear Colleagues,

Below, please find a link to a resolution on sexual assault that will be posted today as part of the addendum for our January 31st meeting. My co-sponsors on this resolution are Council Members Casar and Kitchen, Mayor Adler, and Mayor Pro Tem Garza. In drafting this resolution, we incorporated extensive feedback from the City Manager, Chief Manley, ACM Arellano, the Law Department and stakeholders that work directly with survivors. We look forward to the discussion at work session and welcome further refinement that will better enable us to facilitate the healing and justice our community deserves.

Resolution link: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 21542.docx


Regards,
Alison Alter

Re: Resolution on Sexual Assault for the Jan. 31 Meeting

Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2019 9:03 am
by Greg Casar
Thank you Council Member Alter, for your efforts bringing this item forward.

Colleagues, below please find a public statement from Council Member Alter, Council Member Kitchen, Mayor Adler, MPT Garza, and myself, regarding our sponsorship of this resolution:

“We believe survivors of sexual assault deserve justice and the chance to heal, and we know that too often survivors do not get the justice they deserve. That is why the Chief of Police recently publicly expressed a need for and commitment to a comprehensive third-party review of how the City handles sexual assault cases, and why we are sponsoring a resolution outlining the details of a comprehensive, third-party evaluation of our policies and practices regarding these types of cases. The City Council will vote on this resolution on January 31st.

In recent years, thanks to advocacy by survivors and hard work by the police department and city leaders, we have begun to take significant steps to ensure justice in these cases, especially by addressing backlogs of evidence. But evidence collection and testing is just the first step. We must all work together to take a fresh look at our practices and resources dedicated to sexual assault cases, so that we can do everything possible to be a leader in addressing sexual assault. It’s what our community expects and deserves, and what all of us believe is necessary.

We thank the City Manager and the Chief of Police for collaborating on this direction, our city employees for their dedication and hard work on these issues, and the advocates in the community for their continued commitment.”