South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced this week that groups assisting crime victims across the state will soon be awarded more than $26 million in federal and state grants. The funding was formally approved earlier this year by the S.C. Public Safety Coordinating Council and will take effect October 1, 2025.
The grants are being distributed via the Attorney General’s Office through the Department of Crime Victim Assistance Grants, under four categories: Victims of Crime Act (VOCA); Violence Against Women Act (VAWA); State Victim Assistance Program (SVAP); and Supplemental Allocation for Victims Services (SAVS).
“These state and local agencies and non-profit groups do so much to help people who are going through traumatic circumstances,” Wilson said in the announcement. “With these funds, we are able to support agencies throughout the state as they assist victims of violent crime in their recovery.”
Recipients include law enforcement, nonprofits, hospital systems, and government entities. For example:
- The City of Anderson Police Department is receiving $93,520 to support domestic violence investigations and victim advocacy.
- McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence was awarded $251,907 to provide forensic interviews and medical care for sexual assault victims across 12 counties.
- HALOS, a nonprofit in Charleston, is receiving $114,177 to support kinship caregivers across multiple counties.
Barbara Jean “BJ” Nelson, director of the Crime Victim Services Division in the Attorney General’s Office, noted the role of her team in administering the program. “The grant staff of the Crime Victim Services Division in the Attorney General’s Office is honored to work with the hundreds of caring, dedicated professionals who help victims of crime every day in South Carolina,” she said. “Our goal is to have the most effective and the most compassionate victim service system across the United States.”
Gender Equity Concerns & Statutory Requirements
A substantial portion of the new funding is tied to VAWA, a federal law designed originally to address violence against women. That raises legitimate questions: are male victims, who also suffer domestic violence, sexual assault, and other violent crimes, being served proportionally? Are organizations receiving these funds legally constrained to serve both sexes?
Federal statutes impose nondiscrimination requirements on grant recipients:
- Under VAWA, recipients cannot deny services based on sex. However, they may conduct sex-specific or sex-segregated programs if that segregation is “necessary to the essential operations” of the program.
- VOCA similarly prohibits discrimination against eligible victims, regardless of gender, though VOCA funding allocations may prioritize certain categories (such as sexual assault, domestic violence) in which women tend to predominate.
In practice, these rules mean that a group receiving VAWA or VOCA funding is generally expected to be open to male as well as female victims—unless it can legitimately justify a sex-exclusive service as integral to program design.
Still, critics argue that, even under these rules, systemic bias and funding structures may leave male victims with fewer options.
What the Data Says: Male Victims Are Real, Though Less Visible
To assess the fairness of fund distribution, it’s useful to look at actual victimization data. While women experience a higher volume of sexual assault and intimate partner violence, men are also victims—and sometimes undercounted or underserved.
South Carolina & Domestic Homicide
- According to the South Carolina Domestic Violence Fatality Report for 2023, of 30 domestic homicide victims, 24 (80 %) were women and 6 (20 %) were men. SCAG
- A statewide infographic shows that among the 30 people murdered by a household member in that period, 80 % were women and 20 % were men. SCAG
These figures indicate that while women do bear the overwhelming share of homicide in domestic settings, men still constitute a meaningful minority of those victims.
Lifetime Prevalence in South Carolina
- A South Carolina report observes that 42.3 % of women and 29.2 % of men experience intimate partner physical violence, sexual violence, and/or stalking at some point in their lives. Assets Service
- Sexual and intimate partner violence fact sheets note that women seek services at about 3.5 times the rate of men in South Carolina, suggesting under-utilization (or under-provision) of services for male survivors. Women’s Rights & Empowerment Network
Sexual Assault in South Carolina (Law Enforcement Data)
- In 2019, law enforcement-recorded sexual assaults in South Carolina: 92 % of victims were female; 8 % (or fewer) were male. Bureau of Justice Statistics
- The same 2019 data shows rates per 100,000 residents: 127.9 for women vs. 23.6 for men. Bureau of Justice Statistics
- The average ages of reported victims: 13 for males, 21 for females. Bureau of Justice Statistics
These patterns reflect both the heavier burden of sexual violence borne by women and the relative invisibility of many male victims in reporting systems.
What This Means for the Grant Debate
With over $26 million at stake in South Carolina’s new funding round, the question is not whether female survivors deserve robust services—they clearly do—but whether male survivors are being left behind in the design and allocation of those services. The law generally requires gender-neutral access, but real-world practices and funding priorities can create gendered gaps in care.
Given the data:
- Men constitute a nontrivial share of victims (especially in domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault categories, though at lower rates than women).
- Male victims may face stigma, fewer service providers willing to help them, or programs structured without male inclusion in mind.
- Unless oversight ensures compliance and encourages inclusivity, some services might remain de facto inaccessible to men, despite legal requirements.