The legal assistance for victims (LAV) grant program, authorized by 34 U.S.C. 20121, is intended to increase the availability of civil and criminal legal assistance needed to effectively aid victims…

The Office on Violence Against Women awarded the Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault Inc. (LAFASA) nine hundred thousand dollars on October 1, 2025, under the Legal Assistance for Victims grant program (CFDA 16.524) to provide comprehensive legal services to sexual assault survivors throughout Louisiana. LAFASA will deliver civil and criminal legal assistance in matters relating to protection or stay-away orders, family proceedings, employment and housing disputes, criminal justice investigations and prosecutions, and post-conviction relief. At least 80 percent of clients represented will be survivors of non-intimate partner sexual violence. The project will produce plain-language materials outlining the process of obtaining a protective order. The award runs through September 30, 2028, with place of performance in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The legal assistance for victims (LAV) grant program, authorized by 34 U.S.C. 20121, is intended to increase the availability of civil and criminal legal assistance needed to effectively aid victims (ages 11 and older) of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking by providing funds for comprehensive direct legal services to victims in legal matters relating to or arising out of that abuse or violence. Legal assistance includes assistance to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in: a) family, tribal, territorial, immigration, employment, administrative agency, housing matters, campus administrative, or protection or stay away order proceedings, and other similar matters; B) criminal justice investigations, prosecutions, and post-trial matters (including sentencing, parole, and probation) that impact the victims safety and privacy; C) alternative dispute resolution, restorative practices, or other processes intended to promote victim safety, privacy, and autonomy; and D) post-conviction relief proceedings in state, local, tribal, or territorial court where the conviction of a victim is related to or arising from domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or SEX trafficking. 34 U.S.C. 12291(a)(24)(C). Through this new legal assistance for victims project, the louisiana foundation against sexual assault (LAFASA) will provide comprehensive legal services to sexual assault survivors throughout the state of louisiana. The project will address the statutory consideration:improve the availability of legal services for sexual assault survivors. At least 80% of clients represented will be survivors of non-intimate partner sexual violence. The following products will be developed during the project period: plain-language materials outlining the process of obtaining a protective order.