State gets grant to combat violence against women

Illinois will receive a federal grant of nearly $4.4 million to combat violence against women.

U.S. Rep. Bill Foster announced the grant Thursday from the Department of Justice through the STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program.

The program aims to encourage effective, victim-centered law enforcement, prosecution and court strategies. The money also supports services to victims.

Foster says the funding will help police address violence against women and help prosecute offenders and hold them accountable.

The U.S. government estimates that one in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime and that one in six women will experience an attempted or completed rape at some time in her life.