Fact Sheet: HUD Takes Historic Actions to Address Gender-Based Violence

President Biden proclaimed October as Domestic Violence Awareness and Prevention Month and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) continues to raise awareness about HUD resources to support survivors of gender-based violence.

This work includes providing critical information to grantees and other stakeholders on the housing protections of survivors under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). In October, HUD announced it will soon release a proposed rule to implement the 2022 reauthorization of Violence Against Women Act (VAWA 2022), which provides new housing protections, such as prohibiting retaliation against a survivor for claiming VAWA protections as well as a right to seek emergency assistance and contact the police for protection.

HUD anticipates that the proposed rule will be published next year. HUD will be soliciting public comments on the proposed rule. As domestic violence affects millions of individuals and their families across the country, under the leadership of Secretary Marcia L. Fudge, HUD has taken ambitious actions to address gender-based violence, including:

• HUD has awarded $10 million in VAWA training and technical assistance funding to HUD technical assistance providers to provide support to HUD grantees implementing VAWA. The training and technical assistance will begin starting the fall of 2023.
• As part of the Fiscal Year 2022 Continuum of Care Program Competition, HUD awarded $54.6 million to 147 new projects for new projects that serve survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking. Those projects totaled $54.4 million and included 95 permanent housing and rapid re-housing grants as well as 29 joint transitional housing/rapid-rehousing grants. This funding supports efforts to prevent survivors from becoming homeless or connecting survivors who may be homeless to housing services.
• To continue this work, the Fiscal Year 2023 Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Continuum of Care Program Competition included another $52 million set-aside for new projects that serve survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking.
• In Fiscal Year 2022, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) grantees used over $11.5 million of CDBG funds and another $8.1 million of CDBG-CV funds on services for survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. This resulted in the building of new shelters and housing for survivors.
• HUD published interim guidance for grantees in the Federal Register regarding implementing VAWA 2022. Since then, the Offices of Public and Indian Housing (PIH), Multi-Family Housing (MFH), Special Needs Assistance Programs (SNAPs), and Office of HIV/AIDS Housing (OHH) have issued memos or letters to their grantees providing guidance on implementing VAWA 2022.
• HUD created a VAWA website that serves as a clearinghouse of HUD's VAWA resources for survivors, grantees, and other stakeholders. This website has recently been updated to include new VAWA trainings, a new section on VAWA cases, and additional VAWA guidance from program offices.
• HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity reached two settlements with housing providers in Nevada and California under HUD's new VAWA enforcement authority.
• HUD convened the agency's first philanthropic roundtable on gender-based violence and housing. The event, organized with the Women's Funding Network and Blue Shield Foundation of California, featured speakers from national and community-based organizations focused on combatting gender-based violence and addressing the housing needs of survivors, as well as senior leaders of foundations seeding change through strategic investments at this intersection.
• The Federal Housing Administration updated its Single Family Housing Policy Handbook, which included a policy change to help ensure survivors of domestic violence who own their homes can access loss mitigation programs to help retain their homes and avoid foreclosure.
• In 2021, Secretary Fudge established the Director on Gender-based Violence Prevention and Equity in the Office of the Secretary.

###

HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all.
More information about HUD and its programs is available at www.hud.gov and https://espanol.hud.gov.

You can also connect with HUD on social media and follow Secretary Fudge on Twitter and Facebook or sign up for news alerts on HUD's Email List.

HUD COVID-19 Resources and Fact Sheets

Learn More About HUD's Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity Work