Justice Department allocates $35.7 million in grants to support sexual assault victims

There are grants for victims of sexual assault.

Each state, DC, and five US territories will get a grant from the Office on Violence Against Women.

"For nearly two decades, the Justice Department's Sexual assault services program has demonstrated our commitment to provide comprehensive support to survivors of sexual assault," Attorney General Garland said in a statement.

The grant funding will be used to strengthen the efforts of agencies and organizations across the country to provide critical services and care for survivors.

According to the DOJ, the Sexual assault Services Formula Grant Program is the first federal fund dedicated to direct intervention and assistance to victims of sexual assault.

Allison Randall is the acting director of the Office on Violence Against Women.

"Over the next year, this SASP grant funding will help tens of thousands of survivors of sexual violence access essential services," Randall said. The direct service providers who make these services available to survivors and provide trauma-informed care on a daily basis are very important to me.

According to the DOJ, SASP funding is distributed according to a "statutorily determined, population-based formula" to the states and territories.

The grant sum is believed to be the largest in SASP's history. The largest grant at the time was $28.2 million in the year 2021.