I just learned from reporting in Mother Jones that the Crime Victims Fund, the pot of money created by a 40-year-old piece of landmark legislation called the Victims of Crime Act, has been running dangerously low for several years, mostly due to changes in prosecutorial priorities at the Department of Justice. The result? Lifesaving services for survivors have been struggling to stay afloat: the hotlines they call in crisis, the shelters they flee to, and the advocates accompanying them to court and help them heal.
And all this has been happening against the backdrop of increased rates of intimate partner violence since the start of the pandemic; the Dobbs decision, which has made it harder for pregnant survivors to leave abusers; and a housing crisis that makes it harder for them to flee.
As Judge Shelley Santry, a family court judge in Louisville, Kentucky, told Mother Jones’s reporter, "The consequence may be death."
The situation is bleak. But legislation in Congress, the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2024 (H.R.8061/S 4514), could help stabilize the Crime Victims Fund if passed. So please do that!
These services can help save lives, provided they are adequately funded. Please co-sponsor and push to immediately pass the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2024. Thanks.
First sent on October 21, 2024 by Jess Craven
