Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Utah lawmakers denied $1.4 million and $260,000 funding requests meant to help domestic violence survivors.
- Advocate Erin Jemison now fears limited resources will mean shelters have to turn people away seeking help.
- Moves are afoot to raise funds for strangulation forensic exams in light of lawmakers' decision.
SALT LAKE CITY — Erin Jemison worries about the potential upshot to people seeking help in contending with domestic violence in the wake of the 2025 legislative session.
Utah lawmakers rebuffed two key budget requests backed by her organization, the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition, which she worries will make it tougher for grassroots organizations that advocate for domestic violence survivors.
"Service providers have been doing everything they can up until now," said Jemison, director of public policy for the coalition. Now, with lawmakers' decision to forego a request for $1.4 million for organizations that aid survivors, she worries the groups will have to turn away some people seeking help.
Jemison also lamented the separate decision to deny a $260,000 request for funds to cover the costs of strangulation forensic exams. Such exams are key in helping document choking incidents in domestic violence cases so perpetrators can be prosecuted. "Prosecutors really support the program because it does provide the evidence to say (strangulation) happened," she said.
Lawmakers didn't offer specifics in denying the requests; they just referenced what they said was limited funding.
"That's the general answer — it was a tight budget year," Jemison said. The past few years — 2022, 2023 and 2024 —were "great years" in terms of funding, she said, but this year "was markedly different." She gave Utah lawmakers a grade of "F" on domestic violence matters.
While worrying agencies that work directly with domestic violence survivors may be pressed to turn some of them back given limited resources, Jemison said efforts are afoot to raise funds via donations for strangulation exams, typically handled by forensic nursing agencies. An estimated $400,000 is actually needed to keep pace with demand, though advocates for the funding had only sought $260,000 for the year from the state.
"While common in (domestic violence) cases, (strangulation) injuries are often invisible and require specialized forensic exams to document evidence and provide emergency healthcare," reads a fact sheet on the funding request supplied to lawmakers.
According to the fact sheet, successful prosecutions of people in choking cases have increased since strangulation tests first received state funding in 2022. Jemison said strangulation is involved in an estimated 38% of domestic violence cases.
The $1.4 million was to have been appropriated to 16 domestic violence shelter-based programs in Utah. With the passage of SB117 in 2023, law enforcement is required to conduct a "lethality assessment" during domestic violence calls, which has resulted in the identification of more potential victims and a doubling of referrals to shelters.
"This funding is needed to keep up with the 100% increase in victims at high lethality risk who need access to immediate safety and support," reads a fact sheet on the matter provided to lawmakers.
