Rape Crisis Center - History

History

The first American RCCs were formed in several states throughout the country in the early 1970s, largely by women associated with the second-wave feminist movement. Central to second-wave feminism was the practice of consciousness raising, which allowed groups of women to speak openly about their experiences with sexual violence and the shortcomings of law enforcement, health care providers, and the criminal justice system to effectively and constructively respond to survivors. Prior to the 1970s and 1980s several barriers existed for rape survivors seeking justice, such as the fact that the concept of marital rape did not exist, juries were instructed to be suspicious of the validity of the survivor’s accusations, eyewitnesses were required to bring cases to court, and survivor blaming was the norm. Employing a feminist analysis, second-wave anti-rape activists began working to redefine rape as a direct outcome of patriarchy and an illustration of women’s subordinate status in society relative to men. Rather than relying on traditional notions of rape as a primarily sexual act committed by deviants who are unknown to their survivors, feminists have emphasized the violence of rape, as well how it is embedded in normal social interactions. This redefinition effectively politicized rape, framing it as a larger pattern stemming from women’s oppression rather than a series of random, unexplainable criminal acts. From a feminist standpoint, the only way to completely eliminate rape is to create a society where women and men have equal status.

Working from this new feminist definition of rape, anti-rape activists began organizing at the grassroots level, forming the first RCCs. Among the first was the Washington D.C. Rape Crisis Center, founded in 1972 by women identifying with the radical branch of the women’s movement. The D.C. RCC published a pamphlet entitled How to Start a Rape Crisis Center, which provided a model for other early RCCs to follow. In line with the prevailing values of the women’s movement at that time, early RCCs were nonhierarchical, fairly anti-establishment, and were largely staffed by volunteers. In addition to providing services for rape survivors, such as 24-hour crisis hotlines, legal and medical assistance, referrals, emotional support, and counseling, many early RCCs focused their efforts on raising awareness about rape in their communities by organizing public demonstrations and inviting the media to attend. Such an example is the annual Take Back the Night march, which has become a mainstay in many communities and a means for women to express uncensored anger about sexual violence against women.

The efforts of local anti-rape activists and RCCs to redefine and politicize rape were instrumental in getting rape put onto the national agenda. Once the National Organization for Women identified rape as a priority focus, the anti-rape movement gained an even larger organizational base that could mobilize larger numbers of people and lobby for legal reform. Because of efforts by anti-rape activists and RCCs on local, state, and federal levels, the 1970s and 80s saw many important legislative changes that greatly improved the situation for rape survivors. Among these achievements are the criminalization of marital rape, rendering a rape survivor’s prior sexual history inadmissible as evidence in court (rape shield law), repealing the requirement for corroboration in rape cases, and eliminating the requirement that survivors must have physically resisted the attack in order to prosecute. Another important development was expanding the legal definition of rape to include forced oral and anal sex, penetration by a finger or object, and a number of other acts and situations.

Invididual activists working with RCCs were often responsible for bringing about these legal successes. For example, in 1980 Anne Pride, director of Pittsburgh Action Against Rape (PAAR) was held in contempt of court for refusing to submit the records of a client to the defence attorney. When the case came to court a mistrial was ruled and the case went to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, which ruled in favour of PAAR. This forced the issue of RC counsellors and confidentiality on the political and legislative agenda. By 1983 there was no legal doubt that RC record would remain confidential.

Early RCCs also sought to publicize the problematic manner in which law enforcement, health care providers, the criminal justice system, and the media responded to rape. RCCs would write letters to newspapers, hold press conferences, buy radio and television ads, and distribute flyers to draw negative attention to various actors who committed disservices to rape survivors. Among their primary targets were law enforcement and hospitals. They criticized police officers for being unresponsive to rape survivors and perpetrating what they called a “second rape. For example, it was not uncommon at the time for police officers to question rape survivors about their sexual history or accuse them of provoking their attack. Hospitals received criticism for their treatment of rape survivors, as they had no infrastructure to appropriately treat them and physicians often minimized the seriousness of rape survivors’ injuries. Seen as a threat rather than a resource, RCCs largely had a combative relationship with mainstream organizations, a trend that has since changed. Poor relations between RCCs and mainstream organizations eventually became unproductive as law enforcement and physicians would refuse RCC advocates access to rape survivors. Now most RCCs coordinate their activities with law enforcement, hospitals, the criminal justice system, and other mainstream organizations. RCCs also provide mainstream organizations with training and education and work to develop protocols for them to follow. The level of cooperation between RCCs and mainstream organizations and how responsibilities are allocated among them vary from community to community.