Wednesday, April 29, 2026, 10 a.m. (New York City time), Committee Room - City Hall
Committee: Committee on Women and Gender Equity
0:10 Good morning. Welcome to the
0:10 committee on women and general
0:12 equity jointly with committing
0:14 on technology at this time we
0:15 ask that you please. Sounds
0:17 all electronics if you wish to
0:19 testify. You must see one of
0:19 the sergeant at arms in the
0:21 back and I no point. Please do
0:22 not approach the day as chair,
0:23 you begin. Oh, sergeant, can
0:35 you bring the gavel, I
0:54 officially can start. Good
0:55 morning, everyone. I'm council
0:56 member Amanda Farah, chair of
0:58 the committee on women and
0:59 gender equity. I'm excited t
1:00 obe joined by the chair of the
1:02 committee on technology
1:03 Council Member Carmen De La
1:04 Rosa for today's hearing on
1:07 protections against harassment
1:08 in digital and physical spaces
1:08 for women and gender expensive
1:10 people.
1:11 This morning. We've been
1:12 joined by council members
1:13 allah ball showman and Riley
1:15 to start us off. I'm going to
1:17 turn and read a statement from
1:19 counsel member luis, they will
1:20 be hearing resolution number
1:24 99, sponsored by the council
1:25 member declaring May 28 as men
1:27 day in the City of New York
1:31 just to begin her statement
1:31 .firstly, thank you, chair
1:34 Farah.
1:34 And De La costa for your
1:35 leadership and for advancing
1:36 this important resolution
1:37 before the committee today I
1:39 am proud to bring forward
1:39 resolution 99, whic
1:42 hdesignates made 28 as much
1:43 hygiene jeanne day in the City
1:44 of New York this resolution
1:46 speaks to an issue that is
1:48 often overlooked yet impacts
1:49 millions of individuals acros
1:50 sour City and country every
1:53 single day menstrual hygiene
1:54 is not a luxury it is the
1:56 fundamental component of
1:57 health, dignity and equity yet
1:58 far too many individuals
2:00 particularly low income women
2:01 and young women, young people
2:04 continue to face barriers and
2:05 accessing basic monster
2:07 prodts.uc
2:07 we know that period. Poverty
2:09 is real. It forces individuals
2:11 to make impossible choices
2:12 between food and hygiene
2:15 causes students to miss school
2:15 and pushes people out of work
2:17 and daily life simply because
2:18 they like access to essential
2:22 resources.
2:23 Millions of individuals like
2:23 access to adequate products
2:24 and the consequences extend
2:26 beyond physical health t
2:28 omental health, educational
2:29 attainment and economic
2:30 stability when individuals are
2:31 forced to use makeshift
2:33 materials are used product
2:34 sbeyond safe limits. It puts
2:37 their health at risk and
2:38 perpetuates the of an
2:39 inequality that are that we
2:41 are actively working t
2:44 odismantle.
2:44 Designating monster high
2:45 jeanne day in New York City is
2:45 an important step in breaking
2:48 stigma, advancing public
2:49 awareness and reinforcing our
2:50 commitment to ensuring that
2:51 . All individuals can manage
2:52 their health with dignity. It
2:54 creates space for education
2:56 for community engagement and
2:58 for continue advocacy to
2:59 expand access to mental
2:59 products across our schools,
3:02 shelters and public
3:04 institutions this resolution
3:05 affirms that mention health is
3:06 public health and that equity
3:08 requires us to address even
3:10 the most basic needs of our
3:11 communities with urgency and
3:14 intention. I urge my
3:15 colleagues to support
3:16 resolution 99. Thank you. As
3:20 many of you are aware today is
3:21 nrecognized on the last
3:25 Wednesday in and honor of
3:27 sexual assault awareness month
3:28 as the longest running sexual
3:31 violence prevention and
3:32 education campaign in history
3:35 ,damn day? Asks community
3:36 members elected officials,
3:37 businesses and students and
3:38 all individuals to make a
3:40 social statement with their
3:43 fashion by wearing jeans as a
3:44 visible means of protest
3:47 against the misconceptions
3:48 that continue to surround
3:49 sexual violence. People
3:50 . Are encouraged to where it's
3:51 denim to combat victim blaming
3:53 and educate others about
3:55 sexual violence this year on
3:58 denham dairy, the committees
3:58 on women in gender equity and
4:00 technology will examine
4:01 protections against harassmen
4:02 t, including sexual harassment.
4:04 Harassment is a complex issue
4:06 rooted in societal norms that
4:09 reinforce gender empowered
4:10 disparities and
4:12 disproportionately impacts
4:12 women and gender expensive
4:15 people, according to a 20 22
4:16 poll of workers in New York
4:17 state more than a third of
4:20 cecile women and half of
4:22 respondents who identify as.
4:23 Or gender expansive people,
4:23 reported experiencing sexual
4:28 harassment in the workplace.
4:29 And while this number is far
4:31 too high and workplaces
4:33 harassment laws proved a
4:35 structured civil and
4:35 specialized legal framework
4:38 that forces employers to
4:39 prevent and stop harassment
4:41 based on protected
4:42 characteristics, but we kno
4:43 wthat harassment is a pervasive
4:45 issue that can occur anywhere,
4:47 including public spaces and
4:51 online, it can be difficult
4:51 for police to respond to
4:52 complaints and for people to
4:53 feel their concerns have
4:55 really been addressed. There
4:56 are complex legal that play
4:58 and the burden of proof for a
5:00 criminal response is highe
5:01 rthan in the civil system. Some
5:03 speech is protected by our
5:04 freedom of speech rights and
5:07 we lacked jurisdiction for bad
5:08 actors outside the country
5:10 ,research research has shown
5:11 that as many as 80% of such
5:13 these gender women in New York
5:15 City have experienced some
5:16 form of street harassment.
5:19 Additionally, online
5:19 harassment against women is
5:20 escalating with nearly one I
5:23 nfour women reporting that they
5:24 have experienced the online
5:27 abuse. The impt iacs even more
5:28 severe for lgbt plus women
5:29 with a recent survey showing
5:31 more than half of lgbt plus
5:33 lgbt q plus women reported
5:35 having experienced online
5:38 harassment. So today we'll ask
5:39 the administration how they
5:39 are planning to address
5:40 harassment in New York City
5:43 what resources are available
5:44 for those who have experienced
5:45 harassment and how can we
5:47 better protect women and
5:47 gender expensive people from
5:50 harassment.
5:51 Now I'd like to invite chair
5:52 La Rosa to deliver her opening
5:56 statement.
5:57 Thank you. Good morning and
5:57 welcome to our hearing, I am
5:58 Council Member Carmen of the
6:01 committee on technology and
6:02 I'm pleased to join my
6:03 colleague, chairman Farah
6:04 years for this very important
6:06 hearing on protections against
6:08 harassment, digital and
6:09 physical spaces for women and
6:11 gender expensive people,
6:12 especially on denim day a day
6:14 dedicated to raising awareness
6:16 about sexual violence and
6:16 standing in support of victims
6:20 . Sexual harassment and
6:20 harassment more broadly has
6:22 evolved over the years with
6:24 advancements in technolog
6:25 yharassment is no longer
6:26 limited to physical spaces it
6:28 has taken New forms digitally
6:29 on social media messaging
6:32 platforms and even in virtual
6:35 reality now bad actors also
6:37 commit harassment, fraud,
6:38 stocking and other crimes
6:40 through digital means that
6:43 directly affect people's lives
6:44 in the physical world
6:45 . In many cases, abusers
6:47 gather personal information
6:48 about their victims online and
6:50 weaponize it to commit cyber
6:52 stalking, taxing identity
6:55 theft, blackmail,
6:55 nonconsensual image sharing
6:57 sometisme even with generated
6:59 effects and other forms of
7:03 abuse photos, location,
7:05 workplaces, schools, family
7:06 details ip addresses phone
7:08 numbers, devices and daily
7:10 routines cannot be collected
7:13 and misused
7:13 . This information be shared
7:14 directly by individuals
7:15 without realizing the risk
7:17 exposed to data breaches or
7:18 obtained to apps and online
7:21 services where users agreed t
7:22 obroad data sharing terms
7:24 without reading the privacy
7:28 policies
7:28 . Once available, this
7:29 information can be weaponized
7:32 to harass stock, threaten,
7:34 impersonate blackmail and
7:36 exploit victims online.
7:37 More needs to be done t
7:39 oeffectively prosecute these
7:40 offenses and to ensure that
7:42 future acts of online
7:43 harassment and abuse are
7:46 deterred. Recent reports
7:46 indicate that online
7:49 harassment has increased
7:49 significantly with some
7:50 reports showing a rise over
7:52 around 17% in the last year
7:55 alone. However, the real
7:56 number be even higher as many
7:58 victims choose not to repor
8:00 tor speak about their
8:03 experiences.
8:03 Some victims feel ashamed,
8:05 afraid, unsupported or
8:06 hopeless about receiving
8:07 justice or protection.
8:10 Anyone can be a victim of
8:11 online harassment. However,
8:12 reports show that women,
8:15 transgender individuals and
8:15 members of the lgbt plus
8:18 community are often
8:19 disproportionately targeted
8:22 online.
8:22 For this reason digital
8:23 safety and privacy education
8:24 must be a top priority
8:27 protecting personal
8:28 information online is n
8:28 olonger optional it is
8:30 essential part of ensuring
8:31 that personal safety and
8:33 freedom of everyone,
8:34 especially women and gender
8:36 expensive people with our New
8:38 reality of significance of
8:39 significant online
8:42 connectivity and future
8:43 promises of increasing
8:45 technology second logical
8:47 sophistication we need to be
8:47 even more prepared to protect
8:49 vulnerable people from online
8:51 harassment
8:51 . Just this past over 99 day
8:55 period, the a the ex chat box
8:57 crock generated and post it
9:01 over a half a million intimat
9:01 e, deep fake images of women in
9:04 the overwhelming majority of
9:05 the cases without their
9:07 consent, prompting bands by
9:09 multiple international
9:10 governments and investigations
9:14 by the with the spread of I
9:14 would t devices and remote
9:16 controlled technology abusers
9:17 can harass victims remotely
9:19 through the smart home devices
9:21 , including cameras, locks,
9:24 thermostats, speakers and
9:27 security systems as with abuse
9:28 online and in virtual reality
9:29 ,the abuser can be located
9:32 anywhere, blurring the
9:34 territorial boundaries.
9:35 However, the legal system
9:36 still largely depends on
9:38 territorial jurisdiction,
9:39 making it difficult t
9:41 oidentify, investigate and
9:42 prosecute some abusers
9:44 . Today we wish to learn from
9:46 the administration about the
9:47 initiative that they have
9:48 taken on to come back online
9:51 harassment, educate New
9:52 yorkers about their rights on
9:53 the local state and federal
9:55 laws as well as the resources
9:57 available to New yorkers who a
9:58 poor victim victims of online
10:01 harassment. The committee is
10:02 also looking forward to
10:03 hearing testimony for the
10:04 public for a better
10:05 understanding of the present
10:08 challenges around online
10:09 harassment as well as what
10:10 measures can be taken to
10:12 mitigate and protect these
10:12 harms from occurring
10:15 . Finally, I want to express
10:16 my sincere gratitude to the
10:17 council. I remember and policy
10:20 analyst Eric brown as well as
10:21 in putting this hearing bomb?
10:27 Together. I'd also like t
10:29 orecognize the technology
10:30 committee members and council
10:31 members who are present, and I
10:35 think that's it from the
10:36 technology committee, but we
10:37 also have council members out
10:38 of the ball council members
10:40 here with us as well. I will
10:41 now turn it over to the
10:45 committee counsel. Such a
10:46 thank you. Card La Rosa.
10:48 Additionally, today the
10:49 committees will also hear the
10:52 following legislation pre
10:53 considered introduction number
10:54 t 26 761 sponsored pride
10:57 deputy speaker Williams in
10:59 relation to reporting on
11:01 efforts to combat sexual
11:03 harassment and equal
11:04 employment opportunity
11:05 violations at eight at City
11:06 agencies and to repeal local
11:07 law. Adrienne oh, one for the
11:09 year 20 18 relating to the
11:13 climate surveys and action
11:14 plans to combat sexual
11:15 harassment and equal
11:16 employment opportunity
11:17 violations at City agencies. I
11:18 will now read a statement from
11:20 deputy speaker Williams. Thank
11:22 you, chair Farah for hearing
11:23 this bill today for many New
11:25 yorkers, especially those
11:26 working in City government,
11:27 the workplace should be
11:28 somewhere they feel safe and
11:30 respected, but too often, that
11:32 is not the case and when
11:34 issues arise, the response can
11:35 feel unclear or incomplete
11:36 this bill is about getting a
11:38 clear picture of what is
11:39 actually happening inside our
11:41 agencies and how those
11:43 situations are being handled
11:44 right now while anti sexual
11:46 harassment trainings are
11:47 required. We do not have a
11:49 clear understanding of who is
11:50 being reached, how consistent
11:52 those trainings are across
11:53 agencies
11:53 . Or whether they are being
11:54 implemented in a meaningfu
11:57 lway.
11:57 We also love transparency
11:58 around what happens after a
12:00 complaint is.
12:01 Made this legislation would
12:02 require more detailed
12:03 reporting from casts on
12:05 trainings, including who is
12:05 being trained and how those
12:07 trainings are delivered, it
12:08 would also require City
12:10 agencies to report on the
12:12 outcomes of substantiated
12:13 complaints while still
12:14 protecting individuals privacy
12:18 . That level of transparency
12:18 is essential if we expect
12:19 these systems to function with
12:21 credibility and consistency
12:23 across agencies and
12:23 communities like southeast
12:25 queens were many residents
12:26 work in public service. Thes
12:28 eissues are not abstract.
12:29 They shape people's day to
12:31 day experiences at work,
12:32 people should be able to trust
12:34 that clear processes are in
12:35 place and that those processes
12:37 are followed. If we are
12:38 serious about improving
12:40 workplace culture. It starts
12:43 to transparency, consistency
12:43 and accountability this bil
12:44 lmoves us in that direction.
12:48 Thank you, deputy speaker
12:49 Williams for sharing those
12:50 remarks. Additionally, the
12:51 committees will hear Eric
12:52 resolutions sponsored by
12:54 council Hudson rezo number 2
12:56 50 calls upon the New York
12:57 state legislature to pass from
12:58 the governor to sign
13:00 legislation to ensure equal
13:02 educational opportunity, basic