Trump’s DOJ Cuts Are a Disaster for Sexual Violence Survivors

The administration has slashed funding and wants to implement ideological conditions on grants for programs that both support survivors and prevent these crimes in the first place.

Trump’s DOJ Cuts Are a Disaster for Sexual Violence Survivors
Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks alongside President Donald Trump in the briefing room at the White House. Photo via The White House, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

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I'm in The New Republic this week, covering how Trump’s grant terminations and new ideological conditions on federal funding are hurting survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.

Problems began soon after Trump returned to office. In April 2025, the Department of Justice terminated hundreds of grants, valued at over $800 million. Among the canceled grants were those funding hundreds of web-based resources for survivors seeking support, interpretation services for deaf and hard-of-hearing survivors, emergency housing for those fleeing domestic violence, and training programs for law enforcement on how to serve disabled survivors of sex trafficking.

Then, in May, when the Office on Violence Against Women announced funding opportunities, the application included sweeping new conditions requiring potential grantees to adhere to President Trump’s executive orders banning federal funds from being used for “illegal” diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives or “gender ideology.” Martina Shabram, executive director of Eugene, Oregon's Sexual Assault Support Services, told me the new conditions would make the “entirety of our mission ...unallowable.”

Read the full article at The New Republic and watch this space for further reporting on how the Trump administration is ripping up the nation's social safety net, as well as how communities are coming together to fight it and support their neighbors.