Someplace Safe, Someplace Good

In 1973 the San Francisco Women Against Rape SFWAR (http://www.sfwar.org/about.html) was founded in the Mission District by a group of dedicated women with one common goal, to support victims of sexual assault. The group felt it necessary to tell the landlord at the original location they were starting a secretarial service. Swiftly many anonymous women began to come and go.

Why were there so many, so often?

The women of SFWAR created a place for people to go, when there was no place else, someplace safe, where people could help.

Today 1 in 3 women will be raped. SFWAR was created 35 years ago to fulfill a role in San Francisco; they have become a support group, a lifeline, an ally, a resource and a voice.

SFWAR provides resources, support, advocacy and education to strengthen the work of all individuals, and communities in San Francisco that are responding to, healing from, and struggling to end sexual violence.

As a woman, with cousins, nieces, students, and friends who are women, or women-to-be, I don’t like our odds. I don’t want to be raped; I don’t want them to be raped. A little over a year ago there was a serial rapist terrorizing the young women of Berkeley. A dear friend of mine left her apartment there and stayed with me in San Francisco, because she and I both knew that she was clearly at risk. Her life was in danger in her own home, because of her age, her location, her independence as a woman staying alone in her home. I felt a threat to her, and I felt good being able to provide a safe place for her to come, for us to be safe together in my home; however, the bottom line is that rape is a risk. Right now, it just is.

There are things that we can do to lessen the threat, to decrease the chances we will be attacked, to increase our chances of safe nights at home and in our cities. They are varied and extensive; do not wander alone at night, or in isolated areas, be aware of your surroundings at all times, communities can educate people about rape, what it is, how it happens, and how to stop it. We can teach respect, and honesty to our young people so that they have the resources to not give in to violence and aggression. Long-term solutions can be set to motion now.

In the meantime, and for as long as we need them, here in San Francisco (and in other cities all over the country) there are much needed organizations like SFWAR. These organizations provide a safe place for victims of sexual aggression to come for council, support, a place where their voice will be heard, and amplified, shared, understood and ultimately soothed.

SFWAR’s available services include one-on-one counseling, support groups, a 24-hour hotline, medical and legal advocacy, prevention education, staff training, workshops, outreach and organizing. Over 30,000 people accessed their various services over the course of a year (2004-05) and all of them accessed those services for free.

There are many organizations all over the country and around the world that provide support like that provided by SFWAR. People who have fallen victim to these acts do not have to go through the healing process alone. SFWAR is a unique organization, the first organization of its kind in San Francisco.

The reality is that rape happens and it is absolutely devastating; the good news is there are people and groups doing what they can to stop the violence and heal the victims. I saw a panel at the 2009 SFWAR Walk Against Rape, it read: “1 in 10 people were survivors of rape. 10 in 10 can do something to help.” The volunteers at SFWAR do what they can, and they have developed a force and a voice in our community, a voice louder than the voice of any one person alone.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of rape and needs the service of SFWAR you can find them online at http://www.sfwar.org/ if you are outside of San Francisco and you need the services of a crisis center, you can find help anywhere in the nation through RAINN at http://apps.rainn.org/ohl-bridge/.

If you would like to support SFWAR you can do so by getting involved here: http://www.sfwar.org/involved.html, and/or donating here: http://www.sfwar.org/donations.html.