WHEREAS, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against
Women and Girls is a call to action on behalf of countless women around the
world whose daily lives are marred by violence and abuse. This day is an
opportunity for an unprecedented mobilization of both civil society and
government to provide effective justice for women and girls, who remain the
overwhelming victims of all forms of violence; and

WHEREAS, in 2000, the Commission on the Status of Women created the Justice
and  Courage  Project  to  help  uncover the gaps in the City’s response to
domestic  violence.  The  commission  with  its partners developed a ground
breaking  domestic  violence  response  cross  training  program, which has
trained over 400 criminal justice personnel; and

WHEREAS,  through  the  Commission's  Violence  Against  Women Prevention &
Intervention  Grants  Program, the City and County of San Francisco invests
over  $2.3  million  annually  in  creating  a continuum of community-based
prevention,  intervention,  and  emergency services for victims of domestic
violence and sexual assault who come from a wide variety of backgrounds and
neighborhoods; and

WHEREAS,  the  Department  on  the  Status  of Women supports the safety of
domestic  violence  survivors through programs such as the HopeLine program
which  provides cell phones to domestic violence survivors who have escaped
from their violent homes and establish new, safer lives for themselves; and

WHEREAS, our work to end violence against women must be a conscious part of
our  work towards the empowerment of women in general, and in commemorating
this  day,  the  City and County of San Francisco continues the work toward
making  our communities safe for women and girls as we consider what can be
done individually and collectively to help heal the victims of violence and
to help build a future free from violence for every woman and girl; now

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that I, Gavin Newsom, Mayor of the City and County
of  San  Francisco, on the occasion of the international observance of this
global action, do hereby proclaim November 25, 2008 as the…

            Elimination of Violence Toward Women and Girls Day
                            In San Francisco!