Abuse of Power: How the Trump Administration Is Undermining Survivors of Sexual Violence

Trump’s return to power after the election last fall felt like a gut punch to so many survivors of sexual assault and harassment and advocates. It sent a devastating message: that even in the face of dozens of credible allegations of sexual assault and harassment, and after being found liable in one case, powerful perpetrators can continue to rise—untouched, unaccountable, and even celebrated. 

But this isn’t new. In both his current and previous administrations, Trump has repeatedly elevated individuals accused of committing or enabling abuse, harassment, and domestic violence to some of the most powerful positions in the country. It reinforces what so many of us who work in this space already know: sexual violence is about power. And this administration is all too willing to protect that power—at any cost. 

I’ve been advocating for survivors for decades, and one of the first lessons I’ve learned is that gender-based violence often manifests through control—physical, emotional, and financial. Financial abuse is a powerful weapon: using money to manipulate, silence, and force dependence. And under Trump, the federal government is now wielding that same tactic—not against an individual, but against an entire ecosystem of survivor-serving organizations. The Trump administration’s attacks on survivors are systemic—embedded into politically-motivated policy shifts through executive orders, funding freezes, and administrative chaos that threaten the very groups tasked with supporting survivors of sexual assault.  

Many groups supporting survivors rely on federal funding to provide essential services, such as crisis hotlines, hospital advocacy during forensic exams, and prevention programs in schools.  

Trump’s administration has jeopardized these efforts in numerous ways: 

  • Trump directed his administration to freeze funding, including to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Rape Prevention and Education Program, leaving organizations confused, causing some to lay off staff and disrupting their ability to maintain basic services. The groups impacted include those that work on sexual violence prevention in schools and colleges. Also, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), another critical source of funding for groups tackling sexual violence, removed information about grant opportunities from their website, creating additional confusion and concern for service providers. 
  • Trump issued executive orders targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, putting LGBTQIA+ and survivors of color particularly at risk. Survivor services programs now face a cruel choice: Scrub inclusive language from their websites to stay compliant and keep funding—or stand up for their most vulnerable communities and risk financial ruin. Within weeks of the executive orders, the Office of Management and Budget flagged more than two dozen DOJ programs for compliance review that distribute over half a billion dollars to combat sexual violence. 
  • Trump’s anti-DEI EOs have caused fear and confusion among survivor advocates. Organizations are left guessing how to navigate murky mandates while maintaining their core values and commitments to LGBTQIA+ and survivors of color. 
  • Trump’s cuts targeting sanctuary cities threaten rape crisis programs in communities that dare to protect immigrants. 
  • Trump recently laid off staff and gutted core programs at CDC, including within the Division of Violence Prevention that includes programs focused on rape prevention education. Experts at CDC, including the Director of the Office of Family Violence and Prevention Services, who funded and evaluated programs aiming at reducing sexual violence have been placed on leave, disrupting funding pipelines to rape crisis centers and causing organizations to shift services away from supporting survivors. As a result of this, decades of this crucial work will be lost.  

Even Trump’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month proclamation earlier this month was offensive—laced with anti-immigrant rhetoric and false claims that undocumented immigrants are driving sexual violence. The truth? Most survivors are assaulted by someone they know. But scapegoating marginalized communities is easier than addressing systemic harm. 

What we’re witnessing is classic abusive behavior following the DARVO model—Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender. Trump’s administration denies the widespread harm of its actions, attacks the credibility of survivor-serving organizations, and then positions itself as the victim of “radical” or “woke” agendas. 

It’s not just manipulation and lies. It’s abuse—and it’s being carried out at the highest levels of government. 

We see these tactics for what they are: an attempt to assert control, silence resistance, and roll back decades of hard-won progress. 

But we refuse to back down. 

We join the advocates fighting for every dollar, every protection, and every survivor. We recognize that these fights are not just political—they are personal. They are about life-saving services, dignity, and justice. 

Survivors deserve better. They deserve a government that invests in their safety, not one that strips it through manipulation and lies.