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Department on the Status of Women
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Justice and Courage Information
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The Justice and Courage Project arose out of the 2000 murder of Claire Joyce Tempongko by her ex-boyfriend, Tari Ramirez. San Francisco's criminal justice system was not able to save this victim of domestic violence, and the Commission on the Status of Women formed the Justice and Courage Project to discover why. In 2002, the Commission released the report Justice and Courage: A Blueprint for San Francisco's Reponse to Domestic Violence. Read the Executive Summary below for more details or use the link to the right for the full report. After the release of the Report, the Commission established the Justice and Courage Oversight Panel, which seeks to create a seamless criminal justice response to domestic violence.
The Oversight Panel has undertaken several key initiatives in recent years.
* Domestic Violence Response Cross-Training Institute - A Project of Justice & Courage
The Department received a grant from Blue Shield of California Foundation to create and implement an innovative training of 5 criminal justice departments. The Institute won a 2009 Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties.
*San Francisco Domestic Violence Safety and Accountability Audit Report - January 2007 (pdf)
In March 2007, the Justice & Courage Oversight Panel issued the report, "Safety for All: Identifying and Closing the Gaps in San Francisco's Domestic Violence Criminal Justice Response," which used highly collaborative research methods to discover continuing gaps in San Francisco's response to domestic violence. The new report identified 5 significant areas for continued work: 1. language access for limited English-speaking proficient victims of domestic violence; 2. policies to identify and address stalking, 3. improved batterer accountability, 4. the system's inability to identify the complexity of risk that victims face depending on their background, and 5. the system's inability to assess the degree of danger that a victim faces. Participants in Audit included the Adult Probation Department, Office of the District Attorney, Police Department, Sheriff's Department, Department on the Status of Women, San Francisco Superior Courts, Department of Emergency Management (9-1-1), community-based organizations and domestic violence service providers, and the public. The Oversight Panel formed the Audit Implementation Committee comprised of City departments and community members working together to close the gaps identified in the report.
* Mobile Language Interpretation Project Press Release - October 30, 2007
The Safety Audit found that domestic violence victims with limited English proficiency were not being served adequately. The Department partnered with the Office of Language Services to address this gap.
Justice and Courage Report: A Blueprint for San Francisco's Response to Domestic Violence (2002)
Executive Summary
San Francisco was stunned by the murder of Claire Joyce Tempongko allegedly by her ex-boyfriend, Tari Ramirez, in front of her two young children in October 2000. The Citywide response system in place that October day ultimately failed her and pointed to serious problems in what needs to be a seamless system to those experiencing domestic violence. In February of 2001, the Commission and Department convened a review team to assist in the investigation and analysis of the City's response to domestic and family violence.
In the Justice and Courage Report: A Blueprint for San Francisco's Response to Domestic Violence, the review team identified and recommended systemic solutions to the problems of domestic violence in the city by identifying gaps in services and barriers and developing recommendations to remove those barriers and gaps.
The recommendations in the report focus on five primary areas: 1) development of an oversight body, 2) communication and coordination between departments and programs, 3) protocols and policies, 4) resources including personnel and training, and 5) data collection and management.
The Justice and Courage Oversight Project was developed to establish a seamless services delivery to those experiencing domestic violence, assuring that it is effective and efficient in its operation. The Oversight Panel was formed to ensure implementations of the recommendations contained in the Report are made and that changes occur in a collaborative context.
Four working committees were formed to review city departments' domestic violence. These committees are Protocols, Resources, Data Collection and Interdepartmental Communication and Coordination. Joining together in this effort and forming a unique partnership to improve the City's response in significantly increasing the safety, health, and well-being of survivors and to prevent further domestic violence homicides are the Adult Probation Department, Department of Aging and Adult Services, Office of the District Attorney, community-based organizations, Emergency Communications Department, Police Department, Department of Public Health-Mental Health Services, service providers, Sheriff's Department, Department on the Status of Women, San Francisco Superior Courts, Office of the Treasurer and Tax Collector, Department of Telecommunications and Information Systems and the public.
Claire Joyce Tempongko's death is not an isolated incident and unfortunately she is not alone. In studies conducted since 1991, the number one cause of female homicides in San Francisco has been domestic violence. While it is too late to save Ms. Tempongko's life, it is not too late to end or prevent the violence in the lives of others.
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