The state Legislature has not passed enough bills dealing with gender and sexual violence, according to several organizations representing women’s rights.
Earlier this week, groups, including NOW-NYC, the Coalition against Trafficking in Women, Women’s Justice NOW and the Center for Battered Women’s Legal Services held a press conference in New York City urging the state Assembly to consider and pass two bills: one to end the five-year statute of limitations on sex trafficking (A1940), and one that would close the so-called “voluntary intoxication” loophole, which advocates argue allows predators to target those who are intoxicated with impunity (A1065).
Both bills, which passed in the state Senate, are carried by Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz.
Sonia Ossorio, executive director of the New York chapter of NOW, the National Organization for Women, told Capital Tonight that she is deeply unhappy with how the Assembly has dealt with women’s organizations this session.
“One of the issues that we have that comes clearer and clearer into focus, particularly when dealing with the Assembly, is that there’s really this Chinese wall,” Ossorio said, “We do not have access to the speaker, to his top staff. The most that they will do is listen. But they don’t come to the table and actually talk about the bills, and help us get where we need to get.”
An Assembly spokesman took issue with Ossorio’s framing.
“We are never going to apologize for being a deliberative and thoughtful body. We always discuss all issues with our members,” Michael Whyland emailed to Capital Tonight.
In response, Ossorio said there was a difference between being deliberative and opting not to engage.
“We are reasonable people. We are willing to negotiate. We need to know what it is about a bill that either makes you uncomfortable, or that needs to be changed,” Ossorio said.
The Assembly is scheduled to continue deliberating late into the night.
