Agency Details:

San Francisco Women Against Rape 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. At SFWAR, we believe that no single individual, organization, foundation, or business alone can stop the epidemic of sexual assault, but by responding as a whole community, we each bring our piece of the solution.

Description:
SFWAR aims to create healthy and supportive communities that can take responsibility for, respond to, and heal from sexual violence. SFWAR strengthens the safety net of crisis services that protect individuals and families and promotes improved health and well-being through community-based rape prevention and harm-reduction efforts and improved access to health services. Over the last two years, SFWAR was engaged in an extensive Strategic Planning process to assess our evolution and identify areas for growth and improvement.

Our programs include:

24-Hour Crisis Hotline
Rape crisis counselors are available 24 hours/day to offer support, information and resources for survivors of rape and sexual assault, friends, family members and others. Counselors are also trained in areas such as sexual harassment, incest, child sexual assault, same-sex sexual assault, domestic violence, ritual abuse, suicide prevention, male survivors and stalking. SFWAR's crisis hotline is (415) 647-RAPE.

Counseling & Support Groups
Through our Counseling Services, SFWAR provides peer support services to sexual assault survivors, their families and friends to facilitate individual and community healing from sexual assault. Hotline Counselors respond to calls on the 24-hour hotline, providing emotional support, information and referrals in English and other languages. In-Person Counselors provide individual short-term peer counseling to survivors, their families and friends. SFWAR counselors offer 8-week support groups several times a year.

Legal Advocacy
SFWAR Advocates act as a link between medical, legal and social service systems, advocating on behalf of survivors to ensure their rights are respected and needs are addressed. We provide legal advocacy and accompaniment for survivors and social service advocacy and accompaniment to survivors.

Medical Accompaniment & Advocacy
Advocates provide medical advocacy and accompaniment for survivors seeking medical services at San Francisco General Hospital. In 2004-2005 we provided 21 medical accompaniments.

Training & Technical Assistance
Our Recruitment & Training Program works to build a community of activists willing to struggle, learn, and work toward individual and community healing. The training includes education on dynamics of sexual violence in diverse communities, dialogues about challenging oppression, and skill building in crisis intervention, counseling, advocacy, and outreach. Through ongoing support and training of our volunteer pool of Hotline Counselors, Medical Advocates, In-Person Counselors and Outreach Volunteers and interns, we are able to provide quality peer-based services free of charge.

History:
Founded in 1973 as a 20-hour per week rape crisis hotline, SFWAR has survived its "crawling" years and proven capable of developing and delivering innovative crisis intervention services and social change programs for survivors of sexual assault and their communities. During the early 80's, SFWAR expanded its services to include a 24-hour hotline and in-person counseling and support groups. From 1986-1989 with an annual budget of $60K and 3 part-time staff, SFWAR sponsored the well-attended annual Take Back the Night March and established itself as the most comprehensive feminist environment rape crisis center in San Francisco.

In 1991, due to its growing reputation as an organization whose mission and vision are models of empowerment and self-determination, SFWAR was invited to join the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women's Domestic Violence Committee. By 1992, assisted with a grant from the Office of Criminal Justice Planning, SFWAR began its rape prevention education program and produced its first teen video and published our first Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese language brochures. In 1997, SFWAR established its medical and legal advocacy program and by 1998 SFWAR had become a member of the City of San Francisco's Adult Sexual Task Force. In June 2002, SFWAR was elected as a Co-chair of the task force.

In 1994 SFWAR made a commitment to multiculturalism and inclusion by shifting from centralizing white women in the mainstream feminist movement to centralizing the experiences of women of color. By early 2000, SFWAR completed its transition and became majority women of color comprised and led. SFWAR's staff, volunteers and board now reflect the diversity of the numerous communities that we serve. In addition, our programs and services are changing to meet the needs of the diverse women and communities in which we work.

In March 2002, several staff, board and volunteer members, attended the "Color of Violence" conference in Chicago sponsored by Incite! Women of Color Against Violence. After the conference, SFWAR began incorporating an expanded understanding of the connections between interpersonal violence (e.g. sexual assault and domestic violence) and state-sanctioned violence (e.g. war and the criminalization of poor people of color) into the work. Also, our education programs began incorporating lessons on global violence, human rights, and rape as a tool of colonial and slave oppression.

SFWAR has evolved to become a significant part of the field of social change practitioners who are integrating cultural competency, anti-violence and anti-oppression political action in an effort to effect truly lasting social change.

Contact people:

Teresa Martyny, Director Of Volunteers, (phone), (email) Erica Guajardo Johnson, Development Associate, (phone), (email)

Address:

3543 18th St #7 San Francisco, CA 94110 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.sfwar.org

Directions:

Nearest Metro/Subway Stop: 16th Street BART Station,   Walk distance (in minutes): 5   Nearest Bus Stop: 24 Valencia, 1 minute walk

Miscellaneous Information

Besides English, which languages are spoken at your agency?
	Spanish
What is the minimum age for volunteers at your agency?
	18
Is your agency wheelchair accessible?
	Yes
Does your agency have the capacity to host groups of more than 10?
	No
Does your agency have the capacity to host groups of more than 20?
	No

Last updated on February 8, 2010