Department of Justice Announces More than $1 Million in Federal Funding for the Washington State Department of Commerce to Address Sexual Assault

Spokane, Washington – Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, today announced a Department of Justice grant award for the Washington State Department of Commerce. The grant allocates $1,012,474 to address sexual assault. This grant was awarded on August 22, 2023. 

Funding for the $1,012,474 grant was awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, Fiscal Year 2023 Sexual Assault Services Formula Program. The Sexual Assault Services Formula Program (SAS Formula Program) was created by the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (VAWA 2005), 34 U.S.C. § 12511. The SAS Formula Program directs grant dollars to states and territories to assist them in supporting rape crisis centers (including governmental rape crisis centers not in territories and tribal governmental programs) and nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations that provide core services, direct intervention, and related assistance to victims of sexual assault, regardless of age. Funds provided through the SAS Formula Program are designed to supplement other funding sources directed at addressing sexual assault on the state and territorial levels. Rape crisis centers and other nonprofit organizations, such as dual programs providing both domestic violence and sexual assault intervention services, play a vital role in assisting sexual assault victims through the healing process, as well as assisting victims through the medical, criminal justice, and other social support systems.

In announcing this award, U.S. Attorney Waldref stated, “It is critical that we work together – with our federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners – to address sexual assault in Washington State.” She continued, “This latest grant award demonstrates the federal government’s continued commitment to combatting sexual violence, which disproportionately impacts women and vulnerable populations. I have witnessed the hurt and trauma that sexual assault victims and their families and loved ones endure. This award will fund critical services to assist sexual assault survivors, and support my office’s mission to protect victims of crime, amplify their voices, and to seek justice on behalf of all citizens in Eastern Washington.”

Additional information about grants and funding through the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs is available at https://www.ojp.gov.  Information regarding the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence against Women is available at https://www.justice.gov/ovw.