The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday it is providing more than $690 million in grant funding to help victims and survivors of domestic abuse, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
The announcement came as the DOJ marked the 30th anniversary of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act, the first comprehensive law that addressed such crimes.
In a news release, Attorney General Merrick Garland said, "Thirty years ago, VAWA transformed our national response to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking."
"Today, officers, prosecutors, judges, families, and society at large understand what should have always been clear: these crimes cannot be cast aside as somehow distinct or private," Garland said. "Instead, we recognize that they are among the most serious crimes that our society faces and that we must continue to improve access to justice, safety, and services for survivors."
President Joe Biden commemorated the 1994 law in an opinion piece for "Glamour," where he wrote, "My dad was a gentle, kind man who always taught me to stand up to the abuse of power – whether psychological, economic, or physical. That lesson was the driving force behind my decision to create the Violence Against Women Act 30 years ago."
"When I first introduced the Violence Against Women Act as a senator in 1990, too few thought the government had a role to play in ending violence against women. Domestic violence was considered a 'family matter,'" Biden wrote. "It was wrong."
The DOJ said the funding includes more than $171 million in grants for the STOP (Services, Training, Officers and Prosecutors) program, $52 million in grants to fund rape crisis centers in individual states and $40 million in grants for programs that provide transitional housing. Other grant funding will be allocated to prosecute cybercrimes.
Kate McManus ✉
Kate McManus is a New Jersey-based Newsmax writer who's spent more than two decades as a journalist.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.