Governor Andy Beshear awarded over $2 million to 30 organizations across the state through the federal Violence Against Women Act grant program. Officials said organizations will use the money to help prevent sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking, and to provide victims with support.
Beshear said the grant is an important personal cause to him because he believes no one should be the victim of a violent crime.
“While there is a lot of work left to be done in my administration, we are doing everything we can day in and day out to make our community safer, and to make sure our people feel safer. We are going to hold offenders accountable, and we’re going to provide resources to survivors when they’re needed,” said Beshear.
Almost $150 million has been awarded to support victim service agencies. Over 300,000 Kentuckians have received those services.
SAFE Services at the University of Louisville received more than $62,000. Amanda Corzine, director of the program, said the funding is important because it will allow them to provide victims with one-on-one advocacy and prevent further violence.
“Tackling an epidemic like domestic violence takes new and untapped ideas to better serve victims, and without grant funding opportunities like VAWA, it’s difficult for organizations to stretch into these new services,” said Corzine.
Locally, DOVES of Gateway received nearly $60,000 to support their efforts.
Beshear has also signed legislation that requires the Commonwealth to produce an annual report on domestic violence-related data. This includes how many people have reported domestic violence, how many Emergency Protective Orders have been served, and how many abuse and violence-related arrests have been made.
The 2023 Kentucky Domestic Violence Data Report indicates that one in two women and one in three men in the state have experienced domestic violence. When comparing the 2023 report with the previous year, there was an increase in the number of domestic violence indicators reported by agencies across the Commonwealth.