Dear Member of Congress: We, the undersigned national, state and local victim service and allied organizations

write to urge you to significantly increase funding for federal programs that address domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking. Last year, Congress renewed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and expanded it to meet the needs of more victims. To fulfill the promise and potential of VAWA and related federal laws, however, federal funding for these cost-effective and lifesaving programs must be increased. Funding for programs has not kept pace with the need for many years. The current economic climate has created a severe budget crisis for programs that work every day to hold perpetrators accountable and provide safety and support for victims across the country. Many programs are forced to turn away victims who are desperate and have nowhere to go. According to a 2013 survey of rape crisis centers: over onethird of programs have a waiting list for services such as counseling and support groups, 3 out of 4 could not meet the need for prevention programs, and over half had to lay off staff. The survey found that 75% of rape crisis centers lost funding in the past year through a combination of local, state and federal cuts. The National Domestic Violence Counts Census found that in just one day during 2013, while more than 66,000 victims of domestic violence received services, over 9,640 requests for services went unmet due to lack of funding and resources. Of those unmet requests, 60% were for safe housing. Also, in 2013, domestic violence programs laid off nearly 1,700 staff positions including counselors, advocates and children's advocates, and also had to reduce or completely eliminate over 1,280 services including emergency shelter, legal advocacy, and counseling. The federal government funds critical programs that reach into every community across the nation to provide safety, access to services and justice for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. STOP (a VAWA program) allows states and communities to develop coordinated community responses to these four crimes, which improves the criminal justice and wider community response. The Sexual Assault Services Program (a VAWA program) is the federal governments only funding source dedicated to sexual assault services and funds rape crisis centers in every state. The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) is the federal governments only dedicated funding stream for domestic violence shelters and outreach programs. The Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) is a non-taxpayer fund that supports over 4,000 victim services agencies across the nation to help victims dealing with the immediate aftermath of a crime. The Rape Prevention and Education Program (RPE) supports rape prevention and education programs for communities and schools.

These state formula grant programs are the essential foundation of our nations response to violence, and their successes are tangible. They require sustained and increased funding to meet the potential and promise of the recently renewed VAWA and other federal laws. VAWA and related discretionary programs compliment the state formula grants by propelling innovation and providing targeted responses to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking. Each program detailed in this chart works together to provide a comprehensive response to victims of violence. These include lifesaving legal services; funding for services in rural and remote areas; transitional housing services for victims rebuilding their lives after violence and abuse; law enforcement improvements such as Sexual Assault Response Teams and homicide reduction initiatives; services to underserved victims including disabled and elderly victims; programs aimed at children, youth and college students; projects addressing courts and visitation; programs to respond to the epidemic of sexual assault and domestic violence on tribal lands; a national domestic violence hotline; prevention programs and public health responses to violence and abuse; and projects addressing violence in the workplace. These programs must receive sustained and increased funding to ensure that our communities can build on our years of progress and meet the needs of ALL victims. We call on you to support increased funding for these vital programs. Sincerely, NATIONAL, STATE, LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS