Domestic violence affects at least 150,000 women in New York City each year. Many of these women turn to the police, the criminal justice system, Family and/or Supreme Court, the homeless system, welfare agencies and the child welfare system in their search for safety, assistance and justice. Survivors of domestic violence often discover that these systems, intended to protect them from violence and poverty, fail them - or worse, re-victimize them.
The Voices of Women Organizing Project (VOW) was created to empower women who have survived abuse to identify their needs and to actively participate in solving problems that affect them and other battered women. We believe that efforts to end domestic violence in our communities must be informed by those most affected by the issue. Efforts to end domestic violence needs the leadership of survivors in order to:
VOW is a grass-roots advocacy organization comprised entirely of survivors of domestic violence. With training and support from VOW, survivors organize to improve policies and practices that affect battered women. VOW members document system failures, give testimony, meet with principal decision-makers and develop recommendations for change. Through VOW, survivors discover that they have a powerful voice which can influence the response to domestic violence in New York City.
"VOW affords me the opportunity to tell my story, create change and show the world that survivors of domestic violence play a crucial role in the solution process." - Maria, VOW member.
"I am so proud to be part of an organization that represents the diversity of NYC women, including African American, Latina, white, Asian, immigrant, lesbian and disabled women. As a result of my membership in VOW, I have evolved from a survivor of domestic violence into an activist." - Tracey, VOW member.
The institutions intended to protect women and assist them in achieving independence often fail them. Biases and misconceptions that blame and punish survivors for the abuse they have suffered make it difficult for women to leave abusive relationships or find justice.
Because of the systemic failure to understand or act on the complexities of domestic violence, battered women have been:
Until VOW, public policy on domestic violence in New York City was shaped with little input from battered women. Survivors of domestic violence bring an insight and passion to the movement to end violence against women that is necessary and vital to ensure success. We need their leadership in order to create a system that is truly safe, effective and just.
In order to create systemic change and prevent violence against women, VOW members:
VOW offers monthly meetings, trainings, workshops and individual coaching to help survivors develop their leadership and organizing skills.
VOW is currently in the process of developing an "Advocacy Academy". The Academy will be a comprehensive training series, incorporating our current training topics with some new additions. The goal of the Academy is to provide a complete series of trainings for all members, giving newer members the opportunity to quickly gain the skills and confidence needed to start making a difference right away!
"I have grown and developed new skills through training and making presentations. It has been each one of us in VOW teaching the other new skills, to help all of us become leaders." - Mary, VOW member.
A distinctive aspect of VOW is the Healing Expressions Committee, which provides workshops and special activities that assist women in processing the feelings that come up during public speaking and advocacy. Healing Expressions provides a safe environment for VOW members to explore feelings, share their experiences, heal and maintain vitality and health throughout their organizing efforts.
"Every time I leave a VOW meeting, I feel a renewal of strength and strategy that I use to address the many projects I am working on. Before VOW, I was unable to move my hopes any further than a wish; now my dreams are coming true. And with each dream that comes true, another, more remarkable vision comes into view." - Heather, VOW member.
Victims of domestic violence have consistently expressed their frustration with the failings of the court system, the child welfare system, the homeless system and other institutions designed as safety nets from violence and poverty. The Battered Women's Resource Center's mission is to support and give a voice to survivors of domestic violence so that they can organize to influence, change and improve the many systems battered women and their children rely on for safety, assistance and justice. The Center's first and only initiative, the Voices of Women Organizing Project (VOW), is made up entirely of members who are domestic violence survivors. Through VOW, survivors organize to create long-term, sustainable improvements in public policy (practices and attitudes) concerning domestic violence. VOW's guiding principal is to empower women who have survived abuse to identify their needs and to actively participate in solving problems that affect them and other battered women. To achieve their goals, VOW members document system failures, testify at hearings, create position papers, meet with local and state officials and develop recommendations for change.
To prepare members for the rigorous demands of advocacy, VOW offers monthly meetings, special trainings and workshops and individual coaching to help survivors develop their leadership and organizing skills. Stipends and child care are provided to allow women with limited income to participate.
A fundamental aspect of our advocacy efforts are members' descriptions about both partner abuse and re-victimization by the system. Their experiences help us identify the problems that exist and provide the basic empathy for changes in the system. The process of describing battering experiences presents a moving and honest portrayal of the life of abused women; however, it can also bring up feelings of anger, hurt, fear or disappointment for the survivor. A distinctive aspect of VOW is the Healing Expressions Committee, which provides workshops and special activities that assist women in processing the feelings that come up during advocacy.
VOW is the only organization in New York City (and one of only a handful in the country) that empowers survivors in their journey from victim to survivor to advocate.
VOW members have been instrumental in making changes in City policies and practices. Some of our victories include:
VOW members are often the only voice describing the reality of battered women's experiences at public forums - sometimes they are the only women of color present as well.
"It is my pleasure to be part of a group of strong women who are making a difference and laying new bricks that will pave the way for victims of domestic violence to walk upon." - Tanya, VOW member.
The BWRC believes that efforts to end domestic violence must be informed by those most affected by the issue. The movement to end domestic violence needs the leadership of survivors. As an organization we value diversity, the empowerment of women and holding people and systems accountable for their actions. Our guiding principles include respect for all opinions, creating an atmosphere of trust so that survivors of different backgrounds and experience feel welcomed and heard.
VOW is dedicated to being a truly multi-cultural organization, representing all battered women. Our members represent the diversity of New York City, including African American, Caribbean, Latina, white, Asian, immigrant, lesbian, disabled, and formerly incarcerated women.
"We are a group of women who survived abuse from our intimate partners and then felt abused again by the systems we relied on. We preserve an atmosphere in which we feel comfortable enough to speak openly. We work together with respect; we support each other, but we are not a support group. We are an advocacy group, fighting to improve conditions for battered women." - Lorna, VOW member.
Naumi Feldman recently joined the staff of the William F. Ryan Community Health Center as the Director of Community Relations and Advocacy, overseeing the health center's external relations with community groups and its participation in local, state and federal policy and advocacy activities. Ms. Feldman brings strong government relations, policy writing, and grant application review experience to the Battered Women's Resource Center's Board of Directors. From 2000-2005, Ms. Feldman served as Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields' policy analyst for domestic violence, health and disability issues. As part of her duties, Ms. Feldman coordinated and chaired meetings of the Manhattan Borough President's Domestic Violence Task Force and related policy committees. She authored the 2002 report "We Must Do More: The Manhattan Borough President's Report on Domestic Violence" and organized the important conference entitled "Mandatory Arrest: Original Intentions, Outcomes in Our Communities, and Future Directions". Ms. Feldman received her Master of Public Health Degree from Columbia University in 2002.
Geron Gadd is an attorney at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in New York. She has worked as a policy analyst at the Massachusetts Advocacy Center researching the effects of exposure to domestic violence on children and served as the Coordinator of the Task Force on Children Affected by Domestic Violence in Boston, Massachusetts. She is co-author of Helping Traumatized Children Learn: Supportive School Environments for Children Traumatized by Family Violence and currently serves on the domestic violence committee of the New York City Bar Association.
Iris Hernandez-Witherspoon, MSW, (Secretary) has worked with battered women in a variety of settings including the Brooklyn Mediation center, Brooklyn Family Court, the Victim Services emergency hotline, and Lakeside Family & Children's Services, a foster care agency. She has provided crisis intervention, short-term counseling, support groups for abused women and teens. She has also co-facilitated groups for abusive men, and has worked with rape survivors and battered women at Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn. She is currently working with teens as a H.S. guidance counselor. She is fluent in Spanish and brings her impressive computer skills to the project.
Johanna Markson, (Chair person) is the Director of Individual Giving, Corporate Relations and Special Events at the Women's Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDCo) in the South Bronx. At WHEDCo she directs all efforts to raise funds from individuals and Corporations, and oversees the organization's special events. Previously she spent a year at the March of Dimes, Greater New York Chapter as the Director of Major Gifts, and five years at The New York Women's Foundation, where she ran and managed all aspects of the organization's main fundraising events, planned giving campaign, and production of all Foundation publications. Prior to a career in development, Johanna was an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan, where she prosecuted domestic violence cases, and cases involving allegations of sexual and physical abuse against children under the age of thirteen.
Maria Santiago, (VOW member representative) is a domestic violence advocate and educator with over 15 years of experience. She currently works at CONNECT, where she trains community residents, staff of preventive agencies and other community based agencies on domestic violence. Her workshops for staff at ACS contract agencies help to prevent the removal of children due to domestic violence. She has also run groups for men who batter, as well as groups for substance abusing women who are battered. In 2003, she received the Governor's Courage Award. She has been a member of VOW since it first began in 2000, and has served on the VOW steering committee for two years. She became a member of VOW because of her personal experience with domestic violence and her strong belief that women are revictimized by the systems that were set up to protect them. She is fluent in Spanish.
Laurie Woods, (Treasurer) a lawyer and pioneer in the battered women's movement, was the lead counsel in Bruno v. Codd - the first class action lawsuit against the police department on behalf of battered women. She was the founder and director of the National Center on Women and Family Law. She is currently an Administrative Law Judge at the Traffic Violations Bureau and is president of the Association of Administrative Law Judges.
Carol Briggs, is currently a speacial education teacher in a Queens public school. Her previous experience includes working as a trainer/advocate with the Domestic Violence Coordination and Training Project of the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services, where she provided training to professionals, presentations to communities, developed public information materials, and coordinated community initiatives and partnerships to combat DV in the Bronx. Before that she was director of outreach services for Barrier Free Living, where she trained professionals on the needs of disabled battered women. She has been a Board Member and co-chair of the volunteer committee of NY Walks to End DV and co-chair of the DV Action Network (DVAN) and the Bronx Consortium.
Mary Haviland, began her career at Brooklyn Legal Services in 1978 as a domestic violence advocate. She then directed the Park Slope Safe Homes Project from 1980-85 and founded the Coalition for Criminal Justice Reform for Battered Women in 1987. Haviland received her law degree from NYU Law School in 1994 as a Root, Tilden, Snow scholar. She co-chairs a city-wide committee on criminal justice issues and domestic violence. She is author of several publications on domestic violence and legal issues including a study of the effects of mandatory arrest entitled, The Family Protection and Domestic Violence Intervention Act of 1995: Examining the Effect of Mandatory Arrest in New York City. Haviland is founder and Co-Executive Director of CONNECT, a domestic violence organization which focuses on early intervention, community-based strategies and prevention as methods for ending family violence.
Sujata Warrier, Ph.D., is the Director of the Health Care Bureau of the NYS Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, based in NYC. She has extensive experience training professionals in various systems including health care, law enforcement and child welfare, on domestic violence. She provides assistance on legislative and policy issues on battered immigrant women for the State. She was a founder and serves as the President of the Board of Directors of Manavi, a pioneering organization for South Asian battered women in New Jersey. She authored "From Sensitivity to Competency: Clinical & Departmental Guidelines for Achieving Cultural Competency" for the Family Violence Prevention Fund, and "Outreach to Underserved Communities: A National Curriculum" for the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence.
Susan Lob, (Director) has 25 years of experience working with survivors of domestic violence in shelters, non-residential programs and child welfare agencies. She has extensive experience training staff of domestic violence and child welfare agencies and writing curriculums on how to work with battered women and teen victims of relationship abuse. She authored a report based on extensive study of the need for nonresidential services for battered women that served as the basis for the City's RFP for these services. She also has expertise in organizing and leadership development and training with women community leaders and the staff and volunteers of community and social service agencies. Ms. Lob has served as the chair of the Child Welfare Committee of the NYC Interagency Task Force Against Domestic Violence, and on the Boards of the NY Asian Women's Center and the Center for Anti-violence Education.
Vickie Gomez, (Associate Director) has worked within the field of domestic violence since 1989 and is a long time advocate for the rights of battered immigrant women. As Associate Director of the BWRC, she draws on years of direct service and advocacy experience to support the organizing efforts of domestic violence survivors through the Voices of Women (VOW) Organizing Project. She has been a member of the Advisory Council of Crime Victims Board, the East Harlem Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the NYC Interagency Task Force Against Domestic Violence and served on the board of the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence and CONNECT. Ms. Gomez is a member of Generation Five (a social justice movement to end childhood sexual abuse) and the Gender Rights Network (which mobilizes communities and organizes public events to raise awareness around gender rights).
Elinor Dei Tos Pironti, (Administrative Assistant) has worked for many years as an Administrative Assistant in the non-profit world before joining VOW; for five years at the Maine Women's Fund in Portland, Maine and for three years at the Academy of American Poets in New York City. She is an artist working primarily in painting and drawing and currently shares a studio with three other artists in the Park Slope area of Brooklyn.
VOW is a project of the Battered Women's Resource Center, a nonprofit organization that is funded through individual donations, fundraising events and sale of merchandize, and grants from corporate and private foundations and government.
< Return to the top of this page