SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Aug. 24, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — The Department of Justice has announced more than $51 million in funding to programs for sexual assault victims.
The money from the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) is to be distributed in grant awards to every state in the nation and the District of Columbia as well as American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
The $51,860,858 is a 45% increase from last year’s funding.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Utah posted the news Tuesday, noting the funding announcement was made that same day at the National Sexual Assault Conference in San Francisco, California.
The grant awards range from just over $2 million to the California Office of Emergency Services to $256,000 to the American Samoa Criminal Justice Planning Agency, the news release said, with most ranging between $1 million and $700,000.
Utah is to receive $864,000 for the Utah Office of Crime Victims’ Reparations.
“It is critically important that all victims of sexual assault are able to access support and safety. Research shows that the need for that support is substantial across our nation: more than half of women and nearly one-third of men experience sexual violence in their lifetimes, which is a truly staggering number,” said Associate U.S. Attorney General Vanita Gupta.
Created in 1995, OVW administers financial and technical assistance to communities across the country that are developing programs, policies and practices aimed at ending domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. Learn more at www.justice.gov/ovw.
