History
Connection to National & State Initiatives
In the United States, the battered women's movement and the rape crisis movement began in the early 1970's as grassroots efforts to bring about a safe haven for victims, to speak out against the inhumanity of violence against women, and to demand changes. The same was occurring in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Women began to tell...of beatings, of their hair being pulled out, their fingers broken; of being kept from family & friends and burned with cigarettes; of having their possessions destroyed and food thrown in their faces; of threats or actual abuse of their children; losing their jobs and housing because of his violence; experiencing health problems due to past injuries and psychological distress; being made to engage in sexual activities against their will; and, for those who were killed or killed themselves as a result of domestic and/or sexual violence, their memories were told by surviving family and friends.
In Pennsylvania, the movements to end violence against women eventually formed the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV) and the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR), which still exist today. The state coalitions created opportunities for women's advocates to support and learn from one another, as well as to formulate legislation and to inform policy makers as to the impact on society of violence against women, as well as the duty of society to respond to violence of such epidemic proportions.
Formation of the Women's Resource Center, Inc. (WRC)
In 1975 a small group of women banded together out of concern, frustration, and rage over the plight of women in their community. They organized themselves into a Board of Directors, obtained a grant from the local drug and alcohol commission, and began to meet over a drugstore. Through an assessment conducted by the commission, the community identified violence in the home as one of the common areas of concern. Equipped with the assessment results and their knowledge of women's lives, the Board announced on November 18, 1976, the formation of the Women's Task Force on Drug and Alcohol Addictions, which developed into the Women's Resource Center, Inc.
The primary services offered were offered by volunteers including a 24-hour hotline and crisis counseling for victims of domestic violence and rape. Volunteers also housed women and children in need of safe housing.
The Center has grown from a full volunteer effort into an organization with over twenty staff members in Susquehanna and Lackawanna Counties, who respond to the needs of survivors of domestic and sexual violence and their significant others. (See Programs for a full description of services.)
