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Abstract: 

This article documents how recent actions by the Trump administration are dismantling a federal infrastructure that has protected survivors of domestic and intimate partner violence for more than four decades. Through funding freezes, grant cancellations, mass firings, and the removal of research and public resources, programs that support shelters, prevention initiatives, and culturally specific and LGBTQ+ survivor services have been destabilized or erased. The authors show how new funding restrictions narrow who is deemed “worthy” of protection, shift emphasis away from prevention, and create fear and uncertainty among service providers. The result, they argue, is a less safe country—one where survivors face higher barriers to help, and proven strategies for preventing violence are being abandoned at a moment of urgent need.

Keywords: Domestic Violence Prevention; Federal Funding Cuts; Violence Against Women Act; Survivor Services; Public Health and Safety

Affiliations:  1: The 19th; 2: The 19th.