Authorizing the Special Committee on Gun Violence Prevention to conduct hearings to examine the correlation between domestic violence and gun violence.

WHEREAS, Philadelphia faces an ongoing trend of rapidly rising gun violence. As of December 6th , 2021, Philadelphia has already suffered 521 homicides, mostly committed with firearms, which is a 13% increase from the same time in 2020 and a 58% increase over the same time in 2019; and

WHEREAS, Domestic violence is fueling rising gun deaths among women in Philadelphia in 2021. Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw highlighted the increase in both overall and domestic-related female-involved killings in 2021. According to the Philadelphia Police Department there was a total of 40 female homicide victims in 2020, however from the beginning 2021 to Nov. 8, there have already been 60 such incidents; and

WHEREAS, According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, domestic violence is a pattern of behaviors used by one partner to maintain power and control over another partner in an intimate relationship; and

WHEREAS, Domestic violence affects people of all socioeconomic classes, ages, genders, races, and ethnicities. Across their lifetime, 1 in 5 women and 1 in 7 men report experiencing severe physical violence from an intimate partner and nearly 2 in 5 transgender people report having experienced intimate partner violence; and

WHEREAS, When guns are involved in domestic violence situations, it can exacerbate harm and even be fatal for victims, perpetrators, and bystanders; and

WHEREAS, Studies have found that in domestic violence situations, the risk of death is five times greater when a gun is present. According to an analysis of the Supplemental Homicide Reports, 56 percent of women murdered by an intimate partner from 2010 to 2019 were killed with a firearm; and

WHEREAS, COVID-19 has only exacerbated these instances of domestic violence. During the pandemic, there was a reported increase in incidents of domestic violence throughout the country due to stay-at-home orders, which provide fewer options for individuals housed with their abusers, in addition to increased barriers to accessing resources; and

WHEREAS, During the COVID-19 pandemic gun homicides involving intimate partners rose 25% in 2020 compared with the previous year. Women accounted for more than two-thirds of the victims shot and killed by intimate partners last year; and

WHEREAS, As instances of gun violence continues to rise, it is imperative that Philadelphia works to understand and identify trends and correlations to help create policies to interrupt cycles of abuse and to help provide resources to victims of domestic violence before they become another victim of gun violence; now therefore be it

RESOLVED, This Council hereby authorizes the Special Committee on Gun Violence Prevention to conduct hearings to examine the correlation between instances of domestic violence and gun violence.

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