Tell Legislators Maryland Can Make Better Choices for Survivors

Don't cut the Victim Services Stabilization Act

The proposed Maryland state budget includes a $10 million cut to critical services for victims of crime and a potential $4 million cut in the state’s rape kit testing fund. These cuts would mean fewer crime victims have the help they need and more than 100 jobs would be lost.
 
The proposed $10 million cut would reduce services such as therapy for child sexual abuse victims, shelters for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, and helping survivors obtain protective orders. These funds support a wide range of crime victims, including victims of rape, intimate partner violence, families of murder victims, children who were abused, and elder abuse survivors.
 
The potential $4 million cut from the Rape Kit Testing Fund would leave Maryland's survivors without answers. Maryland has been working on reducing its backlog and improving the availability of exams, but there are still thousands of untested kits. Each kit is associated with a survivor who agreed to an invasive and lengthy exam following the trauma of sexual assault.
 
Maryland is facing a serious budget deficit, but cutting victim services is not the answer.

Tell your legislators & the Governor that Maryland can do better for survivors - don't cut the Victim Services Stabilization Act!

Contact your legislators