San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced the appointment of Ivy Lee as the Director of the Office of Victim and Witness Rights. The office was established by a ballot measure approved by the voters and has a mandate to consolidate and coordinate City services to advance the rights of victims and witnesses of crime.
For four years, Ivy served as Mayor Breed's public safety and victims' rights policy advisor, leading the work to develop alternatives to a police response, strengthen the system of victim services, and support criminal justice reforms. In her new role, she will guide the formation of the new office over the next year, including developing the full scope of work in consultation with the Mayor’s Office, Board of Supervisors, and community stakeholders.
In June 2022, San Francisco voters passed Proposition D, championed by Supervisor Catherine Stefani. The ballot measure's passage led to the amendment of the City’s Administrative Code to establish the Office of Victim and Witness Rights with the mandate to conduct a survey of victims’ needs, establish a right to counsel for domestic violence survivors in need of representation for civil proceedings, and develop a pilot program that would realize the promise of a right to counsel for domestic violence survivors.
“Our work on public safety must include supporting victims and witnesses when they step forward to report crimes,” said Mayor London Breed. “Ivy Lee’s understanding of the entire public safety system, her experience working with both City departments and community organizations, and her advocacy for survivors of violence will bring the right voice and support for people who have suffered because of crimes perpetrated against them.”
"It is an honor to be able to serve victims and survivors of crime. Their courage and resilience inspire me every day and compel us all to make this City’s response the best it can be,” said Ivy Lee, Director of the Office of Victim and Witness Rights." I want to thank Mayor Breed for trusting me to do this crucial work and Supervisor Stefani for her leadership in pushing for this office to ensure San Francisco’s government and systems work better, in partnership with the community.”
“For too long, San Francisco has ignored the voices of crime victims, as layers of process, red tape, and bureaucracy stifled those who needed us the most. I wrote Proposition D to change that,” said Supervisor Catherine Stefani. “Now, the Office of Victim and Witness Rights will provide a safe and effective place for those in need—including survivors of domestic violence, sexual harassment, and assault—to get help. Ivy Lee will lead the Office with compassion, integrity, and resolve, and I am thrilled to welcome her as its inaugural director.”
The first step in creating this office required the City to conduct surveys in which participants were asked to identify key problems within San Francisco’s overall victim service and support network; the aim is to use the resulting recommendations to help guide the office’s work. The survey was accomplished over several months through interviews with survivors, direct service providers, policy experts, City department staff, and elected officials.
Among the problems identified as most pressing included: challenges navigating the criminal legal process, lack of housing, unmet emotional and mental health support needs, access to emergency financial relief after a traumatic or violent event, and inadequate support for individuals providing services as they are often survivors themselves. The Office of Victim and Witness Rights duties will focus on improving systems to address these identified challenges and fulfilling the mandates included in Proposition D.
"When I partnered with survivors to create the Office of Sexual Harassment and Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP), we imagined a department that advocated for survivors while they navigate complicated and often unfriendly systems,” said Supervisor Hillary Ronen. “Under the Office of Victims and Witness Rights and under Ivy's leadership, I'm confident SHARP will better serve its original purpose as well as identify reforms that will make it easier for victims to report crimes."
“Survivors need a leader who will fight for them and eliminate barriers within our disjointed systems. Ivy is uniquely positioned to set this new Office up swiftly and effectively centering the needs of survivors,” said Supervisor Myrna Melgar. “Through her decades of work as a legal and policy expert, she has garnered respect across agencies and advocates. She is a competent, no-nonsense problem-solver that leads with great compassion. I can think of no better choice for this critical role.”
During her time in office, Mayor Breed has supported survivors of violence by investing in community-based and community-led programs and organizations such as the Street Violence Intervention Program and the Community Youth Center of San Francisco that directly serve victims of crimes. She also created a Community Liaison Unit within the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) to respond to hate crimes, has dedicated funds to implement wraparound victim services and trauma-recovery therapy for limited English speakers, and consistently supported a portfolio of gender-based violence grants. These grants subsidize legal and social services, case management, emergency shelter, and transitional housing for domestic violence and sexual assault survivors.
Mayor Breed has also spearheaded significant reforms that focus on eliminating the need for police to be first responders for non-criminal situations and changing hiring, promotional, training, and disciplinary systems. In April, she announced that the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) reached a historic milestone by completing the 272 reform objectives in collaboration with the California Department of Justice.
Ivy Lee is a Civil Rights attorney whose legal practice prior to beginning government service focused on defending and advancing the rights of survivors of human trafficking, domestic violence, and sexual assault for over a decade.
Before serving as Mayor Breed’s policy advisor, she performed legislative and policy work in the offices of former San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim and Board of Supervisors President, Norman Yee.
After graduating from NYU School of Law, she was the first Asian American Thurgood Marshall Fellow at the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and an immigrant rights attorney at the Asian Law Caucus before joining the Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, where she founded and led the Immigrant Rights and Human Trafficking project for almost 10 years, representing over 200 immigrant women, children, and men who were also survivors of trafficking or other serious crimes.
“We look forward to working with the new office to better meet the needs of victims and survivors,” said Sarah Wan, Executive Director of Community Youth Center. “As a member of the Coalition for Community Safety and Justice, CYC has provided in-language, culturally competent victims services for hundreds of AAPI victims since 2020. When harm occurs, we want to make sure we have the resources to care for ourselves and our families, and we believe this new office is a critical step in the right direction to better serve our communities.”
“This Office is revolutionary for victims, victims' rights advocates, attorneys, supporters of Marsy’s law, and domestic violence survivors,” says Attorney Geoffrea Morris, co-founder of Black Women Revolt Against Domestic Violence. “It solidifies the work we do in seeking justice and transparency for victims who at times feel mistreated and disregarded in criminal prosecutions. This Office stands as a safety net for victims and an accountability partner for the City to ensure no one is dropping the ball in criminal investigations and court proceedings.”
"The formation of this new department signals the City's commitment to safety, justice, and healing for all San Franciscans,” said Beverly Upton, Executive Director of the San Francisco Domestic Violence Consortium.
“I am proud to be part of the Tenderloin community and our safety, especially the safety of women and children is of utmost importance to me and my family,” said Margarita Mena, Tenderloin resident and co-founder of the Safe Passage Program. “Victims and witnesses of violence often have nowhere to turn for support. This new office is a positive step forward for San Francisco.”
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