By Anna Nasset and Robyn Sordelett

If victim services hadn’t existed, one of us wouldn’t be here to write this. 

That’s why, as a crime survivor and an advocate, we’re infuriated that President Donald Trump has slashed funding for life-saving supports for survivors of crime. 

Defunding victim services isn’t simply a policy choice. For some, it will be a death sentence.

Anna knows this personally. She spent more than a decade being stalked, exhausting her physically and mentally and forcing her to move across the country. A judge told her she’d likely be dead if it hadn’t been for the prosecutor who was willing to take up her case and bring charges against her stalker. With the support of victim advocates, she was able to heal and rebuild her life. 

That kind of life-saving advocacy starts with education. Both of us have seen how training funded by the Department of Justice can empower prosecutors, law enforcement, and advocates to respond to survivors with belief, compassion, and a commitment to their dignity and safety. 

Sadly, the training and resources that saved Anna’s life are the same type of programs that Trump is defunding. 

These cuts defy logic. Many of the organizations who had their funding revoked have received federal grants for years, under both Democratic and Republican administrations. 

Support for survivors should never be political. Any of us could become the victim of a crime, and we can guarantee you won’t be asked who you voted for before being harmed. So why should partisanship play any role in deciding which victims get the help they need? 

Unfortunately, Trump has made clear that he’ll use victims when it’s politically convenient for him, but turn his back on survivors the minute they’ve exhausted their political benefit. 

Take, for example, his proclamation for National Crime Victims’ Rights Week in April, when he said, “I urge…law enforcement, community and faith-based organizations, and private organizations to work together to support victims of crime and protect their rights.”

Just two weeks later, his Attorney General Pam Bondi cut more than $800 million in “wasteful” public safety grants to those very same entities. Is it “wasteful” to expand crisis hotlines for women experiencing domestic violence? Or to train nurses to improve access to sexual assault exams? Or to equip police departments to respond to hate crimes? 

It’s insulting to say that any program supporting survivors of crime on their healing journeys is “wasteful.” Yet, the impact of these cuts may be invisible to the public until it’s too late – until it’s you or your loved one who needs the support of victim services and find programs at capacity, staff overworked, or organizations shut down entirely. 

For an administration that made public safety a rallying cry, it’s baffling to watch them undermine the safety of our communities by cutting essential services for victims of crime.  

We know that when survivors like Anna are supported, it creates a ripple effect in our communities. They can participate in the justice system, rebuild their lives, and contribute to safer families and communities.

On the other hand, when survivors don’t get the support they need to heal, they are more likely to face mental health and substance misuse issues, experience homelessness, and even commit crimes themselves, leading to more instability in our communities. The Trump administration has sadly made it more likely that this will be the outcome for survivors of crime, especially in underserved and rural communities, where resources are already sparse.

We have seen firsthand that public safety and justice aren’t just about the verdict in a courtroom but about having someone in your corner who believes you, who stands by you, and who fights for you. That’s what survivors need and deserve. 

If the Trump administration means what it says – if they truly believe in supporting victims – then the choice is simple: stop defunding our survival. Fund victim services. Fund training. Fund crime prevention. Make public safety a commitment, not a campaign slogan.  

Anna Nasset is a survivor of stalking and the founder of A.Nasset Consulting & Training, working in awareness and response to stalking and victims’ services. Robyn Sordelett is the Survivor Center Director of Prosecutors Alliance Action.