City Council Meeting Date: June 15, 2021
To: Mayor and City Council
City Administrator
From: Beth Kallested, Program Coordinator
Title
Presentation Regarding Request for Resolution of Support for the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
Body
Action Requested:
The City Council receives a presentation regarding the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
The Council is asked to consider a resolution of support for CEDAW.
Summary Report:
The following information has been provided by Ellen J. Kennedy, Ph.D., Executive Director World Without Genocide at Mitchell Hamline School of Law. Ellen will be giving a presentation to the Council at the meeting.
In 2014, the National Council of Mayors endorsed the principles of CEDAW, the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.
Since that endorsement, cities across the country have passed resolutions of support for CEDAW. The goal is to promote awareness about violence and discrimination at the local level and to encourage greater local commitment and involvement for services, intervention, and change.
Abby Banks, Carleton College sophomore, and Tika Khachatryan, St. Olaf College senior, are deeply disturbed by data about Minnesota, southern Minnesota, Northfield, and the college campuses where they study.
• 684,000 Minnesota women will be raped, stalked, or violated by their intimate partners in their lifetimes.
• In 2020, nearly 70,000 victims received services from domestic violence agencies in Minnesota.
• There were 22,760 active protective orders between 2006 and 2015 in Minnesota.
• There were 200,000-400,000 untested rape kits in the US, 4,988 of them in Minnesota.
• In 2020, at least 22 people were killed in Minnesota due to domestic violence.
• 2,678 Rice County residents reported being in an abusive relationship in 2019.
• Hope Center had 161 sexual violence cases in 2018 and 442 cases between 2016 and 2018. 86% of the victims in those cases were female.
• At least 74 people were sexually assaulted at Carleton College and St. Olaf College in 2019.
Women’s rights are human rights, and human rights are women’s rights. Advancing women’s rights improve our communities for everyone. Northfield can join six other Minnesota cities in supporting CEDAW: Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth, Edina, Richfield, and Red Wing.
This information will be shared with the Northfield Human Rights Commission at their meeting on June 10, 2021. The HRC will consider adopting a motion requesting the Northfield City Council adopt the resolution of support for CEDAW. Information regarding their final action will be provided in a supplemental memo prior to the meeting.
Alternative Options:
NA
Financial Impacts:
NA
Tentative Timelines:
Resolution for consideration on Consent Agenda.