The Stealth Attack on Women in Trump’s Budget Bill

Many of the Trump administration’s policies, along with the megabill, will set women and their families up for greater vulnerability to abuse in all of its forms, including financial control, at a time when conservatives are selling a “trad wife” lifestyle to young women on social media and fighting to get rid of no-fault divorce. The administration is also creating uncertainty for groups that run domestic violence programs. Earlier this year, the Trump administration froze federal funding for domestic violence programs and removed notices of funding opportunities from the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women website.

Kiersten Stewart, vice president of public policy and advocacy for FUTURES WITHOUT VIOLENCE, an advocacy group that focuses on ending violence against women and children, said that there are several ways the megabill harms intimate partner violence survivors, many of whom are women. She said that when abusers actively sabotage their partner’s ability to get a job, even the small percentage of people on Medicaid who don’t work, and are often caregivers, will certainly be impacted.

“The single biggest reason that most people report for not being able to leave an abusive relationship is economics, right? This bill makes it so much harder on victims of domestic violence who are low income,” she said. “You have to be able to prove that you’re working and a lot of time for survivors, it’s really hard to have the paperwork if you’re fleeing an abusive situation or living in a shelter or living in temporary housing.”

Stewart said flexible cash assistance is one of her organization’s key policy recommendations to ensure women have access to the resources they need to maintain financial agency.

Jocelyn Frye, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families, said that there needs to be more support for women at all stages of caregiving and all kinds of work statuses to make sure women are economically and socially secure. Childcare, eldercare, and other family support policies that only focus on people in traditional employment, and require immediate attachment to work, leave behind people who are self-employed, seasonally employed, and have nontraditional employment statuses—many of whom are women, she said. There are better alternatives; policies that include women who face intimate partner violence issues. A federal bill, for example, would ensure that people can take paid sick time as a result of intimate partner violence.