At the same time – as the legislature continues to debate the FY27 budget – service providers are facing dramatic reductions in Federal funding. The reductions, set to hit programs this summer, will put services for nearly 100,000 survivors at grave risk, including many from the most marginalized survivor communities. In response, we urge lawmakers in the Senate to also include the $13.8 million TRUST line in the budget, as requested by Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance, to protect programming for the most at-risk survivors.

Jane Doe Inc., the Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence, is grateful for the Governor and legislature’s efforts so far to restore vital state funding that supports the life-saving work of service providers across Massachusetts, including emergency housing services, hotlines for those experiencing violence or in crisis, intimate partner abuse education, support for immigrant, refugee, and LGBTQIA+ survivors, and more. Restoring funding through DPH to FY25 levels helps, but the depth of federal cuts means service providers will still be facing significant shortfalls. In the face of escalating attacks on survivors and their communities, we are hopeful state lawmakers will do more to safeguard support for our most marginalized communities and help ensure the safety and healing of survivors across the Commonwealth.

This fall has been a complicated one for survivors and advocates alike. Though the federal shutdown has ended, families and organizations across Massachusetts are working to rebound from the impact of SNAP delays and other shutdown effects.

Jane Doe Inc. and our member programs rallied at the Massachusetts state house on October 23 to advocate for the restoration of $7 million in funding, cut from the Department of Public Health’s Sexual and Domestic Violence Services budget. While we were dismayed by the legislature’s failure to restore funding in a vote later that day, our advocacy continues.

Through it all, I remain grateful for the tenacity, compassion, creativity (and humor) our staff and our coalition partners bring to their work and their advocacy. I am reminded again and again that we are stronger together.

In this spirit, I wanted to offer a few ways you can invest in our community and uplift survivors this season of giving:

·    Share holiday abundance. Find your local sexual assault or domestic violence agency and support their holiday giving drive. Consider offering gift cards as it can be empowering for a survivor–as it is for all of us–to make their own decisions about what toys and winter coats to pick out for their children this season.

·    Volunteer in your community. Look for organizations working on the ground with communities positioned to be the most impacted by changes in federal and state policy. Sign up for alerts from local organizations like MIRA Coalition and the Massachusetts Trans Political Coalition to stay tuned about ways you can share your time, talent, and treasure.

·    Strengthen JDI’s foundation. Mark your calendar for December 2 for Giving Tuesday 2025 and consider making a year-end gift to JDI. Gifts from individuals sustain JDI’s critical policy and systems advocacy here in Massachusetts and beyond, and strengthen our foundation in the face of public funding uncertainty.

·    Join JDI in the community! Read on for more about a variety of events that support JDI’s programming and advocacy. We can’t wait to see you in real life!

Thank you for supporting survivors. I am proud to do this work with you!

Hema Sarang-Sieminski
Executive Director

Nationwide, organizations are being pressured to erase trans people from their work and public presence. We know that we must hold the line and build capacity within our coalition to better serve trans survivors.

To get us started, we held a week of workshops and webinars by and with trans and LGBTQ+ experts. We are also preparing to launch two Trans Resource Guides: one survivor-facing and one advocate-facing.

The week was a reminder about trans joy, the power of allyship, and the strength of our coalition.

You can read JDI’s Trans Day of Remembrance Statement here.

What a joy it was to gather on May 5, 2026 at the Artists for Humanity Epicenter for a celebratory reception as we raise critical funds to support survivors and advocates, transform our communities, and realize a safer, healthier, freer world free from abuse and violence.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Nearly 300 advocates and supporters gathered at the Massachusetts State House on March 16, 2026 for Jane Doe Inc.’s 2026 Advocacy Day. Curious about our legislative priorities? Check them out here: bit.ly/JDIPriorities25.  

To help answer these questions, JDI engaged Framework Strategies, a consulting firm with expertise in housing solutions for survivors of gender based violence and the HUD Continuum of Care program. Consultants at Framework Strategies spent six months under contract with JDI to develop the Survivor Housing Action Plan, an agenda of work that centers survivors’ needs and advocates’ voices. With big appreciation for all those advocates who shared their feedback and ideas, we are excited to share this agenda and workplan for the road ahead.

Read the full report here.

“At Jane Doe Inc., The Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence, we are dedicated to advancing safety and healing for all survivors, their loved ones, and their communities. In the face of persistent, dangerous, and bigoted attacks at the Federal level that target transgender individuals and communities, we stand with all survivors, including those from historically marginalized communities such as LGBTQIA+ survivors, survivors of color, survivors from low-income backgrounds, and immigrant survivors, whose fundamental rights are under particular attack in this moment. Trans justice is survivor justice. 

Trans people are disproportionately impacted by gender-based violence – more than half of trans people have experienced either domestic or sexual violence. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision allowing states to deny transgender young people access to essential, life-saving healthcare, it is particularly concerning that 1 in 10 trans survivors reports experiencing assault from a health care provider. 

Attacks on the rights of trans people, rhetoric that fosters hatred and isolation, and policies that restrict the freedom of trans people to exist and express themselves compound the dangers already faced by trans and gender-nonconforming survivors. These attacks, ranging from dismantling LGBTQIA+ hotlines to attempts at abolishing gender-affirming care, increase the likelihood of more violence and greater harm against transgender individuals – who are already four times more likely than their cisgender counterparts to experience violent crime.

While the current Federal administration focuses on delivering devastating blows to trans rights and besieging survivor safety across the country, we know that there are real consequences for trans survivors, advocates, and community members, and a dangerous impact from lost resources, increased fear, and empowered abusers. As a Coalition working to end gender-based violence, we know that transgender survivors and the accessibility of the services and resources available to them must be centered in our work. Erasing trans individuals from this field – as the Federal administration is attempting to do – would be entirely antithetical to the values of our work.

In the face of these challenges, JDI Coalition members and our partners remain focused on the work of supporting trans survivors every day. It is critical that trans survivors know there are still resources available to support them and provide assistance navigating difficult, and often hostile, systems. Just as important, there are millions of people – service providers, advocates, and community members – committed to unwavering solidarity to fight for our collective safety, justice, and healing. Those in need of help can find more information on available resources here. At JDI, we will continue our work to support our member organizations, call out attacks that threaten survivors and advocates, and work alongside our members, partners, and elected leaders in Massachusetts to protect our communities.”

Good Morning,

Jane Doe Inc., The Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence, released the following statement in response to the Healey Administration’s plan to undertake a major redevelopment of MCI-Framingham, Massachusetts only women’s prison:

“In a recent announcement, the Healey Administration unveiled that it is allocating $20.5 million in the FY 2026-2027 Capital Budget for the Department of Corrections to “re-imagine” MCI-Framingham, Massachusetts’ only women’s prison. The $20.5 million in FY 26-27 represents only a fraction of the expected $360 million total investment in the redevelopment project, a more than 700 percent increase from cost estimates for previous versions of the plan.

The scale of this new investment in prison infrastructure represents a deep misunderstanding of how the Commonwealth of Massachusetts can support survivors and prevent violence. The vast majority of women in prison are survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence themselves: 86 percent report experiencing sexual violence, and 77 percent report experiencing intimate partner violence. Additionally, survivors are often criminalized and incarcerated for actions taken in the context of surviving violence, such as substance use, experiencing homelessness, or acts of self-defense, or for offenses they were coerced into through abuse. Directing more money to incarceration is not the answer, and will only reinforce cycles of trauma.

We share the Administration’s stated goal of improving the lives of incarcerated women, but that goal must be achieved by investing limited state resources in infrastructure and strategies that address the root causes of violence, including sexual and domestic violence, in non-carceral settings. At a time when funding for domestic violence and sexual assault services is under threat, we need the Commonwealth to invest in community-based strategies for support and healing.

We remain committed to elevating the voices of survivors and community leaders who have been criminalized in the aftermath of experiencing abuse and violence. We will continue our work with advocates, partners, and the Administration to better support survivors and reduce violence by investing in affordable housing, healing, healthcare, recovery, education, and financial opportunity – not prisons.”

“The FY26 budget passed earlier this week by the State Legislature includes a nearly $7 million cut to funding that supports vitial services for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, as well as efforts to prevent future violence. As the statewide coalition against sexual assault and domestic violence, we are deeply distressed by this cut, which will imperil critical, often life-saving, support for survivors, force service providers into impossible decisions, and make all of our communities less safe.

The funding level in the Legislature’s final budget – lower than the Governor’s FY26 recommendation, as well as the budget bills passed independently by the House and Senate – will reduce the availability of critical services for survivors – including rape crisis center services, counseling and therapy, intimate partner abuse education, prevention programming, crisis intervention, housing and shelter support, and more.

We understand the need to reach agreement on a fiscally responsible state budget but – especially in a moment when our communities are facing unprecedented attacks at the federal level – it is more important than ever that we do everything we can to protect and support survivors. Moving forward, it is incumbent on our state elected officials to identify opportunities – including in any supplemental budget – to, at the very least, restore this essential funding and provide the resources necessary to help survivors find safety and healing and prevent future violence.”