Sullivan, Padilla Seek to Expand Legal Representation for Survivors of Violence

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) have introduced S. 3124, the Ensuring Representation for Survivors Act, legislation that works to ensure that all survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault have access to free legal representation, if they need it. Studies have shown that when survivors are represented by an attorney, their ability to break out of the cycle of violence increases dramatically.

“Too often, domestic and sexual violence survivors can’t afford lawyers. This is just wrong, especially when perpetrators enjoy a Sixth Amendment constitutional right to counsel. And it’s bad policy,” said SenatorSullivan. “When survivors have a lawyer, their ability to break out of the cycle of violence increases dramatically. In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, I’ve reintroduced the Ensuring Representation for Survivors Act with Senator Padilla to make sure the legal needs of survivors are met. This bill is the third pillar of my three-part Choose Respect legislative initiative. This is one of the most important initiatives I’ve worked on during my years as a senator and I’ll continue to work relentlessly to try to break this cycle of abuse and violence.”

“Survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence should never have their voices silenced, but too often, they face significant barriers to legal representation,” said Senator Padilla. “Representation is essential: when survivors have access to an attorney, they are more than twice as likely to win their cases. As we approach the end of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, I’m proud to join Senator Sullivan in continuing our bipartisan efforts to ensure these survivors have their voices heard in the court of law.”

The Ensuring Representation for Survivors Act expands and improves the Legal Assistance for Victims grant program, managed by the Office of Violence Against Women. Specifically, the bill:

Increases the authorized amount of the grant program to $80 million.

Allows states to receive and distribute a designated percentage of total grant funding to implement, expand, and establish advocacy efforts, including through pro bono representation. The legal support provided can include asserting a victim’s rights in a criminal proceeding, obtaining a protective order, and support in related civil proceedings, like divorce, custody, housing or health care.

The Ensuring Representation for Survivors Act is one pillar of Sen. Sullivan’s three-part “Choose Respect” legislative initiative to empower survivors and end the culture of violence. The first two pillars—the Choose Respect Act and the E-SERVICE Act—have previously been signed into law. Sen. Sullivan has also worked to expand the availability of pro bono legal services for survivors through the Pro bono Work to Empower and Represent (POWER) Act, first signed into law in 2018 and later made permanent in 2022. Since enactment, the POWER Act has reached more than 61,000 attorneys across the country, encouraging them to offer free legal services to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Below is a timeline of Sen. Sullivan’s legislative work on domestic violence and sexual assault issues:

As Alaska’s attorney general, Sen. Sullivan organized pro bono legal summits throughout the state as part of the “Choose Respect” initiative to end the epidemic of domestic violence and sexual assault, and to provide resources to survivors.
On March 23, 2017, Sen. Sullivan introduced the POWER Act, modeled after his Choose Respect initiative in Alaska, to encourage lawyers across the country to offer pro bono legal assistance to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
On September 4, 2018, the POWER Act was signed into law by President Trump after passing the House and Senate.
On November 20, 2019, Sen. Sullivan joined his colleagues in introducing the reauthorization and modernization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), including multiple provisions authored by Sen. Sullivan to modernize protective service order delivery and to spread awareness of legal and other assistance for survivors.
On March 10, 2022, the VAWA reauthorization passed both bodies of Congress as part of a larger appropriations bill, including two provisions authored by Sen. Sullivan as part of his national Choose Respect initiative: The Choose Respect Act created a national media campaign focused on preventing and responding to violence, including spreading awareness of legal and other assistance for survivors; and the E-SERVICE Act, which established a new pilot program with grants to explore the electronic service of protection orders.
On August 19, 2022, Senator Sullivan celebrated the unanimous vote in the Senate to make the POWER Act permanent.

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