NCJ Number
165501
Date Published
1994
Length
209 pages
Annotation
Based on a study of six rape crisis centers in Los Angeles, the author shows how government has influenced rape crisis work by supporting therapeutic aspects of the antirape movement's agenda, pushing feminist rape crisis centers toward conventional frameworks of social service prevention, and ignoring the feminist political agenda of transforming gender relations and preventing rape.
Abstract
The book traces the antirape movement during its first two decades of work, with consideration paid to feminist issues, an organizational form of rape crisis work that combines politics with service provision, and the integration of rape crisis centers into existing social service networks. Structural changes in the professionalization of rape crisis work are noted. Services provided by rape crisis centers are described, including crisis intervention, community education about sexual assault, and direct services to women. The author details her research at six rape crisis centers in Los Angeles, based on interviews with both victims and center staff. She also examines theoretical issues associated with rape (feminist theory about violence against women and feminism as a movement), the national context in which local antirape organizing occurs, management issues that confront rape crisis centers (leadership and decisionmaking style, recruitment and training, funding, and external relationships), the rape movement, the consolidation of a social service agency orientation in rape crisis centers, and racial dynamics in feminism and the antirape movement. Appendixes contain a list of interviewees and the interview schedule. References and notes