The Trump Administration Is Refusing to Follow the Laws Protecting Domestic Violence Survivors |
Forgot Your Password?
New to The Nation? Subscribe
Print subscriber? Activate your online access
.nation-small__b{fill:#fff;}
The Trump Administration Is Refusing to Follow the Laws Protecting Domestic Violence Survivors
The administration has repeatedly failed to disburse funds for services for domestic violence survivors and blocked the enforcement of their rights.
President Trump responds to a reporter’s question about domestic violence, in 2018.
In a typical year, the Miami Valley Fair Housing Center in Dayton, Ohio, receives approximately $550,000 in funding from the federal government to enforce fair housing rights and educate the public about them. But like many similar housing nonprofits, during the second Trump administration, the organization has struggled to access congressionally appropriated money. Last June, the organization went to court to sue the Trump administration for failing to disperse fair housing funding. After an extensive legal back and forth, it finally caught a break at the end of last September: The Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded it a $125,000 yearlong grant to conduct education and outreach on fair housing rights. But the money never arrived. Jim McCarthy, the organization’s president, heard from his assigned contact at HUD that higher-ups had questions about his organization’s activities, including an outreach event it was planning for victims of domestic violence. When the Violence Against Women Act was reauthorized in 2022 on a bipartisan basis, HUD was given new authority to pursue justice for victims of violence in federally supported housing whose landlords discriminated against them, and the Miami Valley Fair Housing Center wanted to make victims aware of their rights.
Finally, McCarthy received an e-mail from his contact at HUD headquarters. “VAWA is not a activity [sic] that aligns with the current administration’s priorities,” the e-mail, which was shared with The Nation, said.
The EEOC Is No Longer Protecting Federal Workers From Gender Identity Discrimination Bryce Covert
The EEOC Is No Longer Protecting Federal Workers From Gender Identity Discrimination
HUD Is Refusing to Enforce Anti-Discrimination Law—and Won’t Let Anyone Else Do It, Either Bryce Covert
HUD Is Refusing to Enforce Anti-Discrimination Law—and Won’t Let Anyone Else Do It, Either
Childcare Providers Around the Country Are Being Targeted by Vigilante Surveillance Bryce Covert
Childcare Providers Around the Country Are Being Targeted by Vigilante Surveillance
“This is the law. So it’s like, what do you mean?” McCarthy told The Nation. “What the hell?” Despite his confusion, he resubmitted the grant application with the outreach event for victims of domestic violence removed. After that, the grant was officially approved.
The e-mail that baffled McCarthy isn’t an outlier. It fits into a pattern in which the Trump administration has failed to disburse funds for services for domestic violence survivors that Congress appropriated and, through policy changes, has ignored or outright stymied the rights and needs of domestic violence victims. Some of the changes have been wrought by reduced funding and slashed staffing; some of them seem to stems from ideological crusades. All of the administration’s actions will almost certainly to lead to more violence and put victims’ lives at risk.
The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, which was enacted in 1984, funds more than 2,000 domestic violence shelters and programs throughout the country. “It is the only federal funding source that is solely dedicated to domestic violence shelters and programs,” said Melina Milazzo, director of public policy at the National Network to End Domestic Violence, and it’s especially critical because many states don’t spend their own money on such services. But to access the money, states must apply for funds, and the Trump administration hasn’t even released the notice of funding opportunity yet, which is the first step in the process. It takes about six to nine months, Milazzo said, from when the notice of funding is posted for programs to receive funds. “This essentially means that domestic violence shelters and local programs across the country will face at least three months, likely more, without this core funding that essentially keeps their lights on and their doors open,” she said. Most operate with “very limited reserves and cash on hand, which essentially means any funding delays are effectively funding cuts,” she said. “Programs will be forced to reduce services, lay off staff, or even, in worst case scenarios, close altogether.”
The delay in FVPSA funding is compounded by other funding problems. About $200 million in discretionary grants from........