The National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) filed a lawsuit on behalf of 17 state domestic violence and sexual assault organizations on Monday, showing how domestic violence nonprofits are challenging the restrictions the Trump administration has placed on grants on the basis that they are illegal and conflict with requirements laid out in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

The Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) released updated grant guidelines on May 7 that said organizations applying for funding must certify that they are not promoting “gender ideology” or “illegal” diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The new guidance also says they can’t prioritize services to “illegal aliens” over citizens.

But, the lawsuit argues, these new rules conflict with the anti-discrimination statute grantees are bound by. OVW also administers several grants that are specific to under-served communities, which includes those impacted by disability, race, ethnicity, gender identity or sexual orientation.

Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 1994, creating new funding to prevent domestic and intimate partner violence and help survivors. The funding has been reauthorized multiple times since, most recently in 2022, and is critical to domestic violence and sexual assaults services and prevention organizations. Without access to OVW grant programs, services nationwide stand to be substantially hobbled, resulting in more violence and death.

Four out of every 10 women say they’ve experienced violence at the hands of an intimate partner, according to a survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). More than half of all women homicide victims are killed by a current or former partner, according to a CDC study.

“The president lied in his promise to protect women, and is now threatening to block funding for our clients who actually protect women every day,” said Gaylynn Burroughs, vice president of education and workplace justice at NWLC, one of five organizations in the plaintiff coalition. “Holding back their funding in the name of a racist, xenophobic, transphobic agenda is unacceptable and we will fight for our clients to secure the funding they deserve, that keeps women, their families, and our communities safe.”

Read the full article about domestic violence nonprofits by Jennifer Gerson and Jasmine Mithani at The 19th.