Dear Friends,
On September 13, we celebrated the anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), landmark federal legislation that funds emergency shelters and transitional housing, 24/7 hotlines, rape crisis centers, and legal services to help prevent and address domestic and sexual violence. In the years after VAWA passed, rates of intimate partner violence fell. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the rate of intimate partner violence decreased by 53% between 1994 and 2008. What is happening now is infuriating.
In 2025 and 2026, the DOJ drastically reduced the capacity of its Office of Violence against Women (OVW), and more attacks on OVW’s independence and funding have already been proposed. The DOJ has withheld funds and placed unlawful restrictions on programs that provide services, leading to reductions and even closures of the very programs that lead to the reduction in violence.
We are feeling this at Tahirih, where government funding has decreased while calls for help have increased. The consequences are becoming visible: according to a recent report from The Guardian, while overall homicide rates have dropped, fatal incidents of domestic violence are increasing.
This is a manufactured public health and safety crisis. Women bear the brunt of it, but the consequences ripple through communities, schools, our healthcare system, and our economy.
In October, we’ll recognize Domestic Violence Awareness Month – a call to action to address the continued crisis of gender-based violence in this country. This reminder is urgently needed, and we must keep fighting so that one day we can all live in safety.
In solidarity,
Archi