Rape Crisis Centers and Programs: “Doing Amazing, Wonderful Things on Peanuts”

Abstract

Even though the anti-rape movement began more than 30 years ago and there is greater awareness of sexual violence, are rape crisis centers or programs financially secure? Data from interviews with 63 rape crisis workers and volunteers from 6 rape crisis centers or programs located in 4 East Coast states indicate not only that rape crisis centers/programs continue to struggle financially but also that lack of funding continues to present challenges. When rape crisis centers/programs experience reductions in funding, staff positions are eliminated, remaining staff and volunteers are overworked, efforts to recruit and train volunteers are compromised, services for victims are reduced, and education and outreach to the communities become less available. Lack of funding negatively affects rape crisis centers/programs and jeopardizes their future.

KEYWORDS:

• funding
• rape crisis centers
• rape victim advocates

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank all of the directors and coordinators at the rape crisis centers and programs who granted me access to their advocates and the advocates who allowed me to interview them. Thank you to Susan L. Miller, Raquel Kennedy Bergen, and Dana Hysock Witham for helpful comments on earlier drafts of this article and to Claire M. Renzetti, Ronet Bachman, and Gerald Turkel for guidance with this research.

Notes

^a Not embedded in a larger social service agency.

^b Embedded in a larger social service agency.

^c University center.

^a Four of the directors were not asked their age or education level.

Directors of programs were asked the amount of the annual budget. The university-based program does not have an annual budget; each student is required to pay a health fee from which is derived funds for service. The director of the Central Rape Crisis Program did not know the annual budget.

Based on the anticipated scarcity of male advocates and the recognition that including only a few men would reduce the comparability of the data, men were not included in the research. This anticipation was accurate: Only four centers or programs had male volunteers, and a total of eight male volunteers supported these four centers and programs.

Lack of funding does not necessarily mean that victims are not receiving adequate or excellent services (Ullman and Townsend 2007).

Shoppers using www.iGive.com or www.Goodshop.com must first register for free and then designate where they would like a percentage of their sales to be donated. More than 700 stores participate in www.iGive.com. The percentage of the sale that is donated depends on the vendor but ranges from 0.8 percent (e.g., Amazon.com) to 26 percent (The Wall Street Journal). The mean percentage donated by vendors is 3.5 percent. However, of the five community-based centers and programs included in this research, only Bayside Rape Crisis Center and Independence Rape Crisis Program are listed as recipients of funds. Only nine shoppers have had money donated to Bayside Rape Crisis Center, and although Independence Rape Crisis Program has been registered as a recipient since December 2005, money has not been donated to the program through this site as of January 2010. The site www.Goodshop.com is similar to iGive.com. Three percent of all sales is donated to designated agencies. The site www.Goodsearch.com, powered by Yahoo!, provides one penny for every search conducted through the site. Registration for this site is also free. Advertisers pay a fee whenever a user conducts a search. This was started in 2005. Since that time, Alliance Rape Crisis Center has earned slightly more than $16, Bayside Rape Crisis Center has earned slightly more than $110, Independence Rape Crisis Program has earned almost $27, and Haven Rape Crisis Program has earned almost $18. Although these are very innovative strategies for generating funds, unfortunately rape crisis centers and programs are not receiving a substantial amount, quite possibly because of a lack of awareness that these sites are available.