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Abigail K.

Dr. Prager

EN142 Composition and Rhetoric

November 14th, 2023

Underfunding of Domestic Violence Resources in Minnesota and its Related Effects

Domestic violence is a ubiquitously dangerous issue that affects millions of people

globally each year. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports the United States to be

experiencing a prevalent amount of domestic and intimate partner violence, with rates as high as

26% of women in intimate partnerships throughout their lives experiencing physical violence,

17% experiencing sexual violence, and 34% experiencing psychological abuse (“Intimate Partner

Violence”). These numbers indicate that roughly 1 in 5 women experience some form of

domestic violence over the course of their lives. Within the United States, these reported rates

vary as well, with rates in Minnesota on the rise. In 2020, the National Coalition Against

Domestic Violence (NCADV) reported that 33.9% of Minnesotan women and 25.1% of

Minnesotan men had experienced some form of domestic violence from an intimate partner

(including stalking, rape, and other physical violence) over the course of their lifetime

(“Domestic Violence in Minnesota”). These rates are nearly 10% higher than the current national

average and continue to be on the rise. However, despite clear and obvious evidence of rampant

domestic violence in Minnesota, there remains inadequate funding for domestic violence

prevention resources and shelter centers. Though activists and organizations have spoken out

against this problem, legislators continue to divert funding to other areas. As a result, shelters

and other resource centers have begun to close, while rates of domestic violence and intimate

partner homicide continue to rise. The extreme underfunding of domestic violence resources in
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Minnesota negatively impacts access to those resources for survivors and the rates of domestic

violence and related homicides. As urged by reputable organizations and proven successful by

case studies in other states, proper funding could fuel many possible solutions.

Underfunding as an issue that affects all aspects of domestic violence in Minnesota is

present throughout the state level in various ways. Often, on the surface, legislation and

programming that is actioned by legislators in Minnesota may seem positive on the surface,

unfortunately, its effectiveness often runs no deeper. In 2019, the Minnesota State Legislature

approved a grant as part of a program to prevent domestic violence and sexual assault in

Minnesota. This legislation allocated funds totaling only $750,000 to be split among six different

grant applicants over the course of two years to finance “projects that use community-driven and

culturally relevant practices to prevent domestic violence and sexual assault” (“Grant Program

Overview”). Currently, the small amount of annual fund allocation that the legislators provide to

domestic violence resource centers is mainly used for day to day operations. Little to no funding

was ever provided for prevention resources prior to this grant program, making it a landmark

piece of legislation when it comes to ending domestic violence. At the end of the program's

two-year run from 2020 to 2022, the Minnesota Department of Health released a report detailing

the division of funds, outcomes, and setbacks of the program. The recipient organizations who

received funds specialized in underserved communities in Minnesota like the Lao, South Asian,

and Somali communities as well as adolescents with disabilities and refugees. It is important to

note, however, that tribal-run domestic violence and sexual assault organizations were not

considered eligible as grant recipeints. This is a major weak point in the program, as indigenous

communities face the highest rates of domestic violence and homicide in the nation, with as

many as four out of every five indigenous women experiencing violence in their lifetime
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(“Missing and Murdered”). Each of the six recipients of the grant program received anywhere

from $86,250 to $124,250 in order to fund all resource and educational initiatives over the course

of two years. When taking into consideration operating costs, supplies, employee salaries,

educational program development, and other costs, this grant amount covers very little for the

recipients in their efforts to prevent domestic violence. According to evaluations written by the

grantees, the grant program was a step in the right direction for domestic violence prevention in

Minnesota, but they would continue to need more future funding to ensure the continuation of

their educational programs. The legislature, in response, has made no moves to continue this

program or its funding, and this has been the only program of its sort in recent years (Malcolm

6-7 & 18-20).

Unfortunately, the thin-spreading and inadequacy of funding for domestic violence

resources, prevention and shelter locations runs even deeper than the state level. The Victims of

Crime Act (VOCA) is a federal aid program that is the main source of funding for most domestic

violence shelters and resource centers across the country. In September 2023, a petition signed

by 1159 national, state, tribal, and local victim service providers (including 26 affected

Minnesota organizations) was sent to the VOCA chair members, urging them to prevent funding

from being cut from the program. This urgent petition condemned the President, House, and

Senate’s proposed 40–60% program budget cuts for 2024. For 2023, the VOCA program

received only $1.9 billion, a fairly small amount for such an integral program. In comparison, the

Transportation Security Administration (TSA), a similar safety-based discretionarily funded

program, was slated to receive nearly $10 billion in 2023. This difference in funding is also

especially egregious when research has shown that TSA is ineffective and unnecessary, whereas

VOCA funding goes to support services that help millions of Americans each year (Matthews).
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VOCA’s funding is especially scant in comparison not only with other similar programs like

TSA, but also with the U.S. government’s allocation of their entire budget. In 2022, the U.S.

government spent over $6.3 trillion, including $1.7 trillion in discretionary funding, such as $750

billion in military funding (Congressional Budget Office 1-2). Funding for VOCA is now going

to be made even smaller by the proposed rollback in 2024, which would cut current funding in

half. These cuts would cause shelter closures, staff layoffs, resource downsizing, and prevent

thousands of victims from receiving help (“Petition: VOCA”). In the wake of a national crisis of

domestic violence where rates of intimate partner-related homicide are on the rise and access to

resources and safety is becoming scarce, this proposal to cut funding to VOCA is reprehensible.

This lack of both state and federal funding has already been harming shelters and

resource centers in Minnesota and will continue to do so further. According to the Minnesota

Star Tribune, this November, a shelter in Hastings, Minnesota, will have to close a 21-bed

emergency shelter. More shelter closings, downsizing, and staff layoffs are expected in the

coming months as state and federal funding continues to dwindle (Smith). Without funding,

shelters and resource centers can no longer adequately provide services to those seeking them,

and in many cases, these places now cease to exist. The underfunding itself has effectively shut

victims off from vital resources and will continue to perpetuate the cycle of violence, power, and

control for those affected by domestic violence in Minnesota.

Unfortunately, the most prevalent areas of domestic violence in Minnesota are already

lacking in resources before the effects of the current underfunding and proposed future cuts. In

Minneapolis, the most densely populated area of Minnesota, there are only eight existing

domestic violence resource centers, with only five offering hotline services and only one center

providing emergency shelter (“Minneapolis, MN Domestic Violence Help”). This lack of access
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to resources becomes an even bigger issue when combined with the rising rates of domestic

violence and intimate partner-related homicide. For over 30 years, Violence Free Minnesota, a

coalition dedicated to ending domestic violence in Minnesota, has published the only

comprehensive intimate partner-related homicide report of its type. Since no state or federal

agency records or reports on these statistics, Violence Free Minnesota is dedicated to telling the

stories of the deceased and spreading awareness for future prevention. Their 2022 Homicide

Report unfortunately reported 24 intimate partner-related homicides in Minnesota in 2022.

According to the 2022 report, 55% of the victims in the past year lived in the Minneapolis metro

area, which, as stated above, is severely lacking in resources for victims. The report itself

includes many key statistics about the homicide victims that expose systemic pitfalls and a lack

of adequate resources failed them. 65% of the homicide victims had an actual, documented

history of their partner's violence against them, 30% were separated or attempting to leave their

abusers, and 40% died by gunshot wounds (“2022 Homicide Report” 4–14). These are all places

where systemic roadblocks could have prevented the deaths of the 24 homicide victims through

focused resource attention for those who have documentation with a history of violence against

them, easy access to shelter for those seeking it, and greater legislation controlling deadly

weapons such as guns, especially for those with a record of domestic violence.

Not only are these resources and systemic preventative actions already lacking or

nonexistent, they are currently dwindling further, as seen with the shelter closing in Hastings.

Further program rollbacks are expected in Worthington, where Southwest Crisis Center has seen

a 20% drop in state funding, and in Hokah, where Bluff County Family Resources has had to

decrease the length of hotel stay provided to those escaping domestic violence due to the VOCA

cuts (Smith). On October 2nd, 2023, Joe Shannon, the communications manager with Violence
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Free Minnesota, went on Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) to discuss their 2022 Homicide Report.

One topic Shannon covers extensively are instances of death and violence in Minnesota in the

past year as a result of systemic failures that would have been preventable through proper

resource funding. One such instance occurred in Hibbing, Minnesota, where police officers

walked away from a domestic violence call where a woman was begging for help from her

abusive partner because they deemed the situation not serious enough for intervention. Two days

later, that woman died of a traumatic brain injury as a result of domestic violence that could’ve

been prevented by appropriate law enforcement involvement (Shannon). This homicide

illustrates the need for more intensive and comprehensive police force training on domestic

violence situations in Minnesota; however, this educational initiative is unlikely to occur without

proper funding. Unfortunately, all further initiatives and resources will likely continue to

decrease in the coming years. This is a blow to a state already overwhelmed by rates of domestic

violence and homicide and currently lacking in adequate resources.

Combined with these dwindling resources for victims of domestic violence, the actual

rates of it occurring are also on the rise. Though many question if rising rates are a result of

lacking resources or if they are simply a combined factor that exacerbates the problem, this

conundrum is a rapidly growing issue regardless. According to Violence Free Minnesota's 2022

Homicide Report, in 2012, there were 19 reported homicides related to intimate partner violence.

2022’s reported number of 24 deaths marks a 25% increase in these types of homicides in only a

decade (“2022 Homicide Report” 4). As for 2023, the same number of these types of deaths (24)

have already been recorded only three-quarters of the way through the year, with likely more

before its end. Domestic violence-related deaths are not the only numbers on the rise. The

Minnesota statewide crisis line is also on track to have responded to over 37,000 calls in 2023, a
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record high for the program (Smith). As staff cuts at resource centers as a result of underfunding

continue, programs such as this statewide crisis line will begin to become ineffective as more

people are seeking help and fewer are available to provide it.

Though the findings reported in this paper are appalling, they are by no means hard to

find or unknown. Much of the research into domestic violence in Minnesota is published by

government agencies themselves, or published by private organizations and presented to

legislators. With this abundance of knowledge as to the extent of this issue, the question

remains– why isn’t there more being done by those with the ability to enact change in

Minnesota? Jan K. Malcolm, the commissioner for the Minnesota Department of Health states in

their legislative report from 2022 detailing their most recent and only current grant program for

domestic violence and sexual assault prevention that “Domestic and Sexual Violence are

significant public health and human rights issues in Minnesota” (3). This statement is an

undisputed fact when put in relation to the current access to resources and rising rates of

domestic and sexual violence in Minnesota. As such, it is the duty of the Department of Health,

in collaboration with Minnesota’s legislative body, to do everything in their power to rectify this

issue, as it affects the health and safety of thousands of Minnesotans. However, their allocation

of funds, exclusion of tribal organizations, and lack of continuation of the program tell a very

different story about the care and consideration they have for this “significant public health and

human rights issue” (Malcolm 3). Organizations throughout the state have pleaded on both state

and federal levels for increased funding for resources and shelters in order to prevent the

growing levels of domestic violence in Minnesota. Organizations like Violence Free Minnesota

have posed solutions that would all be possible with further funding, such as community-based

advocacy programs, task forces, the implementation of prevention and intervention strategies for
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responding to domestic violence outside of the criminal legal system, and the adoption of the

domestic violence housing first (DVHF) model (“2022 Homicide Report” 37). These claims

regarding solutions are not unreasonable or unfounded, as successful case studies from other

states prove. In the early 2010’s Washington State piloted the DVHF model, which focuses on

the assumption that having a home is one of the main factors keeping victims of domestic abuse

from leaving their dangerous situations. Under DVHF, providing survivors with stable and

permanent housing first and foremost is used to help and treat domestic violence. The

Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WSCADV) reports that 96% of

program participants retained their housing even 18 months later. Program participants were also

asked to evaluate whether or not the DVHF model increased the safety of them and their children

when escaping domestic abuse; 84% agreed. 18 months later, 76% of program participants were

only minimally relying on the program, allowing organizers to use funds for incoming survivors.

Overall, WSCADV found that the DVHF model provided a safe and stable environment for

children of domestic violence, improved the health and wellbeing of its participants, restored

their feelings of self-worth and importance, and helped to connect survivors with resources that

matched their personal beliefs and cultural practices (Washington State Coalition Against

Domestic Violence 1-2). The WSCADV still uses the DVHF program to this day, and members

of Violence Free Minnesota believe it can be implemented to the benefit of victims in Minnesota

if it is adopted as a program with proper funding. The issue remains, however, that while the

legislative body and the Department of Health in Minnesota consider domestic violence to be a

prevalent issue for its citizens, they continue to provide no actionable or appropriate funding or

legislation to prevent it. Combined with the bleak future of federal VOCA funding, shelters in

Minnesota are facing downsizing and complete closures as rates continue to rise. If adequate
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action is not taken by the legislative body or the Department of Health, the deaths of

Minnesotans may be on their hands.

Domestic violence resources and shelters in Minnesota that previously were stretched

thin now face extreme further underfunding. This underfunding is a combination of state

ambivalence and harsh federal cuts. Victims who already have a difficult time accessing

resources to prevent themselves from the continuation of the cycle of violence, power, and

control at the hands of their abusers will now have an even more difficult time extracting

themselves from their situations. This is all in addition to the current lack of access to resources

and shelters, rising rates of domestic violence and intimate partner-related homicides, and

resource centers and shelters being overwhelmed by unprecedented demand this year. There are

many solutions available to help prevent domestic violence in Minnesota, many of which have

been tried and tested successfully in other states. These prevention programs will not be possible,

however, without the support and increased funding from the Department of Health and

Minnesota’s legislative body. Without such, Minnesotans will continue to face these growing

rates of violence without help from a system that has the ability to prevent it.
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References:

“2022 Homicide Report Relationship Abuse in Minnesota” Violence Free Minnesota, 2023, pp.

1-66,

https://www.vfmn.org/_files/ugd/f4bdb8_017cd02d8f3343abb1450e7f3d64b2fd.pdf.

Accessed 13 Oct. 2023.

“Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention Grant Program Overview.” Domestic

Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention Grant Program - MN Dept. of Health, Minnesota

Department of Health, 3 Oct. 2022,

www.health.state.mn.us/communities/svp/mnresponse/dvgrant.html. Accessed 17 Oct.

2023.

“Domestic Violence in Minnesota.” State-by-State Statistics on Domestic Violence, National

Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 2020,

assets.speakcdn.com/assets/2497/ncadv_minnesota_fact_sheet_2020.pdf. Accessed 7

Nov. 2023.

“The Federal Budget in Fiscal Year 2022: An Infographic.” The Federal Budget in Fiscal Year

2022, Congressional Budget Office, 28 Mar. 2023, pp.1-3,

www.cbo.gov/publication/58888. Accessed 7 Nov. 2023.

“Intimate Partner Violence.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 2022,

apps.who.int/violence-info/intimate-partner-violence/. Accessed 7 Nov. 2023.

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Malcolm, Jan K. “2022 Legislative Report for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Grant

Program.” Minnesota Department of Health Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Grant

Program, Minnesota Department of Health, Feb. 2022,

www.health.state.mn.us/communities/svp/documents/dvsaprogramlegreport2022.pdf.

Accessed 17 Oct. 2023

Matthews, Dylan. “The TSA is a Waste of Money That Doesn’t Save Lives and Might Actually

Cost Them.” Vox News Politics, Vox, Sep. 2016,

https://www.vox.com/2016/5/17/11687014/tsa-against-airport-security. Accessed 1 Dec.

2023

“Minneapolis, MN Domestic Violence Help, Programs.” DomesticShelters.Org,

www.domesticshelters.org/help/mn/minneapolis?page=1. Accessed 15 Oct. 2023.

“Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Crisis.” Missing and Murdered Indigenous People

Crisis | Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior,

www.bia.gov/service/mmu/missing-and-murdered-indigenous-people-crisis. Accessed 7

Nov. 2023.

“Petition: VOCA Sign on Letter September 2023”. Open Letter, 2023,

https://nnedv.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/VOCA-Sign-on-Letter-September-2023-2.

pdf?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=ac289182-d6c6-4aaf-

1159 Signers. Accessed 22 Oct. 2023.

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Shannon Joe, Cathy Wurzer, Aleesa Kuznetsov and Nina Moini. “Many Points of Intervention”:

Behind the Data on Intimate Partner Violence in Minnesota” Minnesota Public Radio, 2

Oct. 2023,

https://www.mprnews.org/episode/2023/10/02/many-points-of-intervention-behind-the-d

ata-on-intimate-partner-violence-in-minnesota. Accessed 23 Oct. 2023.

Smith, Kelly. “Minnesota and Wisconsin Domestic Violence Shelters Brace for Cuts.” Star

Tribune, 24 Oct. 2023.

https://www.startribune.com/domestic-violence-shelter-hastings-closing-minnesota-wisco

nsin-crime-victims-services-voca/600313830/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2023.

Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. “Domestic Violence Housing First

Evaluation Findings.” Domestic Violence Housing First Pilot Program Evaluation

Reports, 2013, pp. 1-2,

https://wscadv.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/DVHF_EvaluationFindngsFINALDESIG

NED.pdf Acccessed 23 Oct. 2023.

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