Shaheen, Wasserman Schulz lead call in Congress for more funding to support victims of family violence and sexual assault
U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23) led a letter to Congressional leadership and appropriators along with 17 Senators and 80 Representatives asking for robust funding to support services for survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the severity and frequency of family violence and sexual assault, with increased isolation, economic insecurity and limited access to services leaving victims particularly vulnerable.
In the letter, the lawmakers urge additional funding for programs and grants authorized under the Violence Against Women Act and the Victims of Child Abuse Act, so that rape crisis centers, shelters and other organizations have the critical funding needed to keep survivors safe.
“We write to request that future supplemental appropriations legislation provide support for survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse and for the organizations that serve them. Unfortunately, efforts in Congress to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic have not provided adequate resources for programs and grants that serve survivors during this difficult time,” said the lawmakers. “We urge you to prioritize funding for programs and grants authorized under the Violence Against Women Act and the Victims of Child Abuse Act in any supplemental legislation that the Senate and House may consider.”
They continued: “Social distancing, stay-at-home orders, travel restrictions, business closures and other measures designed to limit mobility and stop the spread of COVID-19 increase the risk of family violence and sexual assault. These measures coupled with increased unemployment, psychological stress and the negative social consequences associated with COVID-19 leave survivors extremely vulnerable during the pandemic. The National Domestic Violence Hotline has reported that callers are increasingly indicating that their abusers are using COVID-19 to further isolate them from their family and friends.”
U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Mark Warner (D-VA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Chris Coons (D-DE) and Alex Padilla (D-CA) also joined the letter.
The letter is also co-signed by Representatives Allred (TX-32), Axne (IA-03), Barragán (CA-44), Bass (CA-37), Blumenauer (OR-03) , Blunt Rochester (DE-01), Brown (MD-04), Brownley (CA-26), Carbajal (CA-24), Cárdenas (CA-29), Carson (IN-07), Case (HI-01), Castor (IN-07), Chu (CA-27), Cicilline (RI-01), Clarke (NY-09), Cleaver (MO-05), Cooper (TN-05), Crow (CO-06), Davids (KS-03), Davis (IL-07), DeFazio (OR-04), DeGette (CO-11), DeSaulnier (CA-11), Deutch (FL-22), Emmer (MN-06), Eshoo (CA-18), Espaillat (NY-13), Fitzpatrick (PA-01), Foster (IL-11), Frankel (FL-21), Gottheimer (NJ-05), Grijalva (AZ-03), Hastings (FL-20), Hayes (CT-05), Horsford (NV-04), Jackson Lee (TX-18), Jones (NY-17), Katko (NY-14), Keating (MA-09), Kind (WI-03), Kuster (NH-02), Lawrence (MI-14), Lawson (FL-05), Lee (CA-13), Lowenthal (CA-47), Lynch (MA-08), Matsui (CA-06), McCaul (TX-10), McGovern (MA-02), Meng (NY-6), Moore (WI-4), Moulton (MA-06), Napolitano (CA-32), Norton (DC-00), O’Halleran (AZ-01), Pappas (NH-01), Phillips (MN-03), Plaskett (VI- At large), Porter (CA-45), Price (NC-04), Raskin (MD-08), Roybal- Allard (CA-40), Rush (IL-01), Sablan (MP-00), Sánchez (CA-38), Scanlon (PA-05), Schakowsky (IL-09), Sewell (AL-07), Sherman (CA-30), Sires (NJ-08), Slotkin (MI-08), Soto (FL-09), Speier (CA-14), Thompson (CA-05), Titus (NV-01), Underwood (IL-14), Veasey (TX-33), Velázquez (NY-07), Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Welch (VT-AL) and Wexton (VA-10).
Through her leadership on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), Senator Shaheen is a leader in the Senate fighting for legislation and funding to support survivors of domestic and sexual violence. In the budget resolution passed last month, Shaheen successfully negotiated the inclusion of her amendment to provide support to organizations serving survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence and child abuse, which cleared the Senate unanimously. In the COVID relief package released yesterday, Shaheen secured funding to support these efforts. Recently, Senator Shaheen and the New Hampshire delegation announced $8,427,680 in funding for New Hampshire organizations to provide emergency housing assistance to vulnerable individuals and those fleeing domestic and sexual violence. She also introduced the Lori Jackson Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act, strongly-supported bicameral legislation to protect domestic violence survivors from gun violence. She repeatedly and successfully adds the highest funding amounts for Violence Against Women Act programs in government funding bills.
Shaheen has also led efforts in the Senate to establish basic rights and protections for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Her bill, the Survivors’ Bill of Rights Act, was signed into law in 2016 and created the first federally codified rights specifically for sexual assault survivors and for the first time allowed survivors the opportunity to enforce those rights in federal court. Shaheen also introduced the bipartisan, bicameral Survivors’ Bill of Rights in the States Act to build on the Survivors’ Bill of Rights Act by incentivizing states to pass legislation that guarantees the survivors rights included in the federal legislation.