RCC Advocacy At The WRC
The Women’s Resource Center opened in 1975 and the first direct services offered were to victims of rape. We started with a hotline and a volunteer rape response team. The WRC mission statement captures everything we believe victims of rape deserve-the right to live in safety, to be treated with dignity and respect, to make choices and to hope. Our goal is to help a victim of rape feel safe, give them choices about what comes next, and to give them hope that they will recover from rape. The experience in responding to rape calls in the hospital setting influenced the design of the Rape Crisis Center (RCC) so that the environment is safe, calm, healing, confidential, and completely focused on the needs of the person who was raped. In 2018 we expanded our services to provide advocacy during domestic violence forensic exams.
The WRC paid and volunteer Advocates make it their goal to know about available resources, provide a safe place and calm atmosphere for victims of violence to make informed choices for their situation. The Advocates provide crisis intervention services in person and over the phone.
The Advocates are available to provide support, advocacy, and follow-up services after the exam. The Advocates can meet with individuals who have been sexually assaulted to address the effects of sexual assault, get support as they work through their next steps, to process if they want to get a protective order or file charges. An individual does not have to receive an exam to access services provided by the Sexual Violence Response Advocates (SVRA).
In addition, the SVRAs are available to speak to schools, community groups, law enforcement and partner agencies to provide education about sexual assault and the services available at the Rape Crisis Center.
If you would like to speak to an advocate, please call (405) 701-5660.