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Efforts to help Utah women fleeing violence could fold as lawmakers slash millions in funding

Multiple programs addressing domestic and sexual violence received less funding than needed, or were passed over altogether, as lawmakers push forward with cutting taxes.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Shauna Mayne embraces Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson after appearing before the Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. Henderson and Mayne spoke in support of a Senate bill beefing up how the state combats domestic violence. Mayne's daughter Amanda was murdered in 2022. While the Legislature passed a law to help domestic violence victims that year, it is cutting funding for domestic violence and sexual assault programs this year.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Shauna Mayne embraces Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson after appearing before the Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. Henderson and Mayne spoke in support of a Senate bill beefing up how the state combats domestic violence. Mayne's daughter Amanda was murdered in 2022. While the Legislature passed a law to help domestic violence victims that year, it is cutting funding for domestic violence and sexual assault programs this year.

  | March 7, 2025, 7:12 p.m.

After Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson’s cousin was murdered by her own ex-husband, the state’s top female elected official sat in front of lawmakers urging them to change policy to help law enforcement identify domestic violence cases that could become fatal.

Three years after the Utah Legislature unanimously passed a law to do so, top leaders have ignored requests to fund programs that help victims escape abusers, and the shelters that house them afterward.

Millions of dollars that advocates for domestic and sexual violence survivors asked for — much of it needed to continue state-funded programs — were not included in this year’s budget. Lawmakers announced the last part of the budget Thursday and will vote on it Friday.

Legislators, meanwhile, are moving forward with cutting income taxes for the fourth year in a row despite recent revenue numbers coming in $112 million lower than forecast.

The Utah Domestic Violence Coalition and the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault will now have to rely on private fundraising if programs helping victims and preventing future crimes are to continue.

Both organizations have been sounding the alarm after the Legislature either passed over or gave less than anticipated for four key funding requests:

  • Rep. Cheryl Acton, R-West Jordan, requested that the Strangulation Forensic Exam Reimbursement Program receive $260,000 annually to pay for forensic exams when law enforcement is investigating a strangulation. The Criminal Justice Appropriations Subcommittee voted to prioritize funding that ask for one year, but the Executive Appropriations Committee did not put money toward it.
  • The 16 state-licensed domestic violence services programs, which operate shelters for victims, hoped to receive $1.4 million annually through a request from Rep. Gay Lynn Bennion, D-Cottonwood Heights. Members of the Social Services Appropriations Subcommittee agreed to prioritize $1.3 million. The Executive Appropriations Committee did not include any of those funds in this year’s budget.
  • Utah’s rape crisis centers worked with Rep. Tyler Clancy, R-Provo, to ask for $3.25 million annually for sexual assault prevention efforts in their communities. The Social Services Appropriations Subcommittee signed off on half of that amount, but the Executive Appropriations Committee ultimately awarded $600,000 one time.
  • House Minority Leader Angela Romero, of Salt Lake City, asked for $300,000 annually to staff Utah’s 24/7 bilingual sexual assault helpline. The Social Services Appropriations Subcommittee agreed to prioritize all of that. The Executive Appropriations Committee instead budgeted a one-time $100,000.

    • These decisions come as the future of federal grants, which make up another significant portion of funding for these services, is precarious, as President Donald Trump’s administration nixes budgets and staff across government.

    Jen Campbell, executive director of the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition, said the web pages for some of the federal grants her organization typically applies for have vanished in recent weeks.

    Democrats have repeatedly expressed disappointment about how the Legislature’s Republican supermajority is responding to low revenue numbers, and have called on leadership to stop tax cuts for Utah’s wealthiest residents.

    “Funding at the federal level right now is uncertain, and if they stop funding things ... our state is going to have to pick up the slack when some of that harm comes down the pike,” Rep. Jennifer Dailey-Provost, D-Salt Lake City, told reporters Thursday.

    The exclusion of funding for the requests from Campbell’s organization is a departure from previous years’ budgets — over the past three fiscal years, the Legislature put $200,000 toward strangulation forensic exams.

    “Without these funds, we see a reduced amount of strangulation exams happening in our state, and it is one of the most lethal aspects of violence in [an abusive] relationship,” Campbell said.

    In the first four months of fiscal 2025, the coalition has spent 80% of the money it got from the state. The $260,000 the coalition asked for this year would have covered only a portion of the money it estimates it needs, and Campbell said it planned to fundraise for the rest.

    The additional money the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition wanted for shelters would have helped them provide services for a growing number of survivors showing up on their doorsteps after the Legislature passed the bill Henderson advocated for in 2023.

    Since the passage of SB117, which requires law enforcement to assess the lethality risk for every domestic violence call, the number of survivors referred to shelters has nearly doubled.

    The Legislature has also directed more funding toward the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Violence’s prevention efforts in previous years, although it was federal money that the state allocates.

    “We’re trying to get, this year, understanding of the high end level of urgency, because [the federal funding is] ending as of June 30,” said Liliana Olvera-Arbon, the coalition’s executive director, before Thursday’s budget announcement.

    When she saw that prevention efforts would get less than one-fifth of what was initially requested, Olvera-Arbon wrote in a text, “Not nearly what we need to sustain what we currently have.”

    The coalition will also have to raise funds to keep its statewide helpline operating, Olvera-Arbon noted, which doesn’t only field calls from victims, but also from health care providers and law enforcement officers.


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