When we talk about the meaning of safety, most of us think about locking our doors at night or avoiding dangerous streets. But for domestic violence survivors in cities such as Chicago, women’s safety is far more complicated — and heartbreakingly elusive. Behind closed doors, thousands of women, children, and families live with fear every day, and many are unable to seek help because of the barriers stacked against them.
In today’s political climate, where immigration raids and funding cuts put even more obstacles in their way, the fight for safety has never been more urgent.
Domestic Violence in Chicago: A Safety Crisis Hidden in Plain Sight
Domestic violence (DV) is one of the most persistent yet underreported crises in Chicago. Official Chicago domestic violence records show tens of thousands of cases every year, but statistics don’t capture the full scope of the problem. Many survivors never report abuse or cannot safely seek help.
Survivors can feel compelled to stay silent for many reasons. Some fear retaliation from their abuser, while others are financially dependent on them and lack the means to leave, especially if their abuser prevents them from working. Many are also discouraged by a justice system that often feels overly complex, unresponsive, or even victim-blaming and retraumatizing. As a result, what’s already a crisis on paper is even more devastating in reality, hidden in homes and neighborhoods across the city.
Immigrant Survivors Face the Greatest Barriers to Seeking Help
For immigrant survivors, the barriers to seeking safety from abuse are even greater. Research shows that refugee and immigrant abuse statistics are undercalculated. In addition to other common reasons for not reporting abuse, these groups have historically been more likely to remain silent because they:
- • Feared deportation
- • Mistrusted law enforcement
- • Lacked awareness of their rights
- • Did not speak English fluently, making it difficult to navigate the courts or access services
- • Often came from patriarchal cultures in which female partner abuse is normalized or in which women are conditioned to be subservient to men
Advocates confirm that systemic barriers to obtaining justice for immigrants’ domestic abuse, from language access to cultural isolation, place these survivors at higher risk and leave them with fewer paths to safety. This means that they are silenced not just by their abusers but by social and political systems that make reaching for help feel dangerous.
How Current ICE Policies Further Threaten Immigrant Survivor Safety
Domestic violence survivors’ ability to achieve safety does not exist in a vacuum; it is shaped by the broader national policy climate, in which the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been weaponized for political purposes. In recent years, ICE raids and federal funding cuts to victim service providers have combined to create a storm of insecurity for Chicago’s most vulnerable residents.
Throughout 2025, ICE raids in Chicago and related arrests have been taking place near courthouses. These are the very places survivors go to seek protective orders or pursue charges against their abusers. In late September, the Executive Director of Connections for Abused Women and their Children (CAWC) observed:
“The past few weeks have been heavy — for CAWC, for the domestic violence community, for survivors, and for our city. After early threats of immigration raids, we were heartbroken and outraged to confirm that federal agents were seen near Chicago courthouses — the very places victims and survivors turn to for safety, justice, and protection.
In only one day, our work drastically shifted. Now, our days are characterized by daily alerts of ICE activity, updating client safety plans with the best protection tactics, and strategizing with urgency to safeguard the families we serve. But like the survivors who inspire us every day, CAWC is resilient. We are rising, along with the strength of the domestic violence community, to fight for what’s right and protect our clients with everything we have.”
How Federal Funding Cuts Hinder Efforts to Protect DV Survivors
At the same time, federal budget cuts under the Trump administration are stripping resources for domestic violence intervention from nonprofit organizations. Chicago recently lost federal support, forcing shelters and domestic violence prevention programs to do more with less. Nationwide, analysts warn that these cuts jeopardize victims’ safety by weakening prevention, legal advocacy, and crisis response.
Without adequate funding, survivors may face longer waitlists, fewer available shelter beds, and less legal assistance, all while facing heightened threats from abusers and hostile immigration enforcement. The result is a crisis in which survivors are caught between abusive partners at home and systemic threats outside their doors, leaving them to live in fear and isolation rather than finding a path to safety and justice.
Why Community-Based DV Services Are Essential
Despite all of this, community-based nonprofit organizations for domestic violence such as CAWC remain lifelines for survivors. Domestic violence shelters provide far more than a roof: they create spaces of stability and healing where survivors can reclaim their dignity and safety.
What makes these programs so effective is their holistic approach. Survivors often need housing, counseling, legal advocacy, and financial guidance all at once, and community-based services are designed to meet those overlapping needs. These programs also extend care to children who have witnessed abuse. Specialized support helps children process their experiences and begin to heal.
Crucially, unlike the court system, these organizations embrace trauma-informed care. This means services are delivered with an understanding of how trauma shapes a survivor’s behavior, choices, and ability to trust others. By treating survivors with compassion and respect rather than judgment, trauma-informed care fosters empowerment and long-term recovery.
Today, this work is nothing short of essential. CAWC and other community-based DV nonprofits protect survivors not only from abusive partners but also from systemic abuses of political power. Supporting these organizations, whether through donations, volunteering, or raising awareness, is a way of standing with survivors. It’s a way of saying that their safety, dignity, and futures matter. Today, we have an opportunity to create a Chicago — and a nation — in which every survivor has the chance to be safe and free.
Support Survivor Safety Now With CAWC
At CAWC, we believe that everyone has a right to a life free from abuse and violence. Our mission to end domestic violence in all demographics is rooted in education, service, and advocacy. In addition to working toward broader social change, we provide empowerment-based and trauma-informed support in the form of shelter, counseling, and advocacy for individuals and their children affected by intimate partner violence.
If you or someone you know is actively experiencing the impacts of abuse or sexual violence, don’t hesitate to call our 24-hour hotline at 773-278-4566. For nonemergency support, reach out through our contact form today.
Despite these uncertain times, you have the power to help us protect more survivors and children. You can change the life of a domestic violence survivor or a child who witnessed domestic violence for the better by donating to CAWC today or by supporting our work in other ways.