DOJ Setting Aside $50 Million to Provide Legal Services for Female Assault Survivors

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) speaks during a news conference about the renewal of the Violence Against Women Act in the Rayburn Room at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on March 17, 2021. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The U.S. Department of Justice has announced $49.85 million in grants for the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) aimed at offering legal services to survivors of “gender-based” violence.

The amount includes more than $35 million that the OVW awarded to 59 grantees under the Legal Assistance for Victims Program, as well as over $14 million awarded by OVW’s Justice for Families Program to 26 projects. These projects are aimed at boosting civil and criminal justice system response to families that have a history of domestic violence. In an Aug. 26 press release, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland called the grants “essential to bringing justice within reach” for victims.