Founded | May 10, 1980 [1] |
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94-2800985 | |
Purpose | Provide leadership, vision and resources to rape crisis centers, individuals and other entities committed to ending sexual violence |
Location |
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Area served | United States |
Sandra Henriquez | |
Website | www |
Formerly called | California State Coalition of Rape Crisis Centers; California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA) |
ValorUS, formerly the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA), is a nonprofit membership association of rape crisis centers and sexual assault prevention programs in the State of California, in the United States. CALCASA is the only statewide organization in California whose sole purpose is to promote public policy, advocacy, training and technical assistance on the issue of sexual assault. [2] CALCASA’s primary members are the rape crisis centers and rape prevention programs in the state. CALCASA also has affiliate members which include organizations, businesses, individuals and others committed to their mission and their vision of the elimination of sexual violence. Its programs, projects and campaigns include the National Sexual Assault Conference, PreventConnect, Raliance and Bold Moves.
Originally founded in 1980 as the California State Coalition of Rape Crisis Centers, the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA) was created by rape crisis centers from across the state interested in creating a unified voice to advocate on behalf of the statewide needs of survivors, system’s change, funding needs and policy advocacy. [3]
CALCASA works closely with rape crisis centers, government agencies, campuses, institutions, lawmakers, the criminal justice system, medical personnel, community-based organizations and business leaders providing a central resource for improving society's response to sexual violence by supplying knowledge and expertise on a wide range of issues. It is also frequently the recipient of federal grants to conduct nationwide programs, including technical assistance for the Grants to Reduce Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking on Campus Program of the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women, and Prevention Connection: The Violence Against Women Partnership funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Injury Control and Prevention.
The National Sexual Assault Conference (NSAC) is a two and a half day, advocacy-based conference providing advanced training opportunities and information regarding sexual violence intervention and prevention. NSAC is an annual event which is organized on a rotating basis between the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape and CALCASA. [4] The conference has rotating themes with the 2019 NSAC theme being Beyond the Breakthrough, which sought to inspire the collective movement to end sexual violence and build on the momentum of the MeToo movement. [5]
PreventConnect is a national project of the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault with funding from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. [6] The goal of PreventConnect is to advance the primary prevention of sexual assault and relationship violence by building a community of practice among people who are engaged in such efforts. PreventConnect also builds the capacity of local, state, territorial, national and tribal agencies and organizations to develop, implement and evaluate effective prevention initiatives. [7]
Raliance is a national collaborative committed to ending sexual violence in one generation. It comprises the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence (NAESV), the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) and CALCASA. Raliance was founded in 2015 through a multimillion dollar seed investment by the National Football League. [8] In addition to the NFL, Raliance has formed partnerships with other organizations including Uber. [9]
Bold Moves is a campaign by CALCASA launched in 2020 focused on preventing sexual violence in all forms. [10] The campaign was funded by the Services*Training*Officers*Prosecutors (STOP) Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program funds (TE18211578) through the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES).
The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) is an American nonprofit anti-sexual assault organization, the largest in the United States. RAINN operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline, as well as the Department of Defense Safe Helpline, and carries out programs to prevent sexual assault, help survivors, and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice through victim services, public education, public policy, and consulting services.
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) is the main advocate for accelerated, comprehensive and coordinated global action on the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Sexual violence is any sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, act to traffic a person, regardless of the relationship to the victim. It occurs in times of peace and armed conflict situations, is widespread, and is considered to be one of the most traumatic, pervasive, and most common human rights violations.
The United States Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) was created following the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994. The Act was renewed in 2005, 2013 and again in 2022. The Violence Against Women Act legislation requires the Office on Violence Against Women to work to respond to and reduce violence against women in many different areas, including on college campuses and in people's homes. VAWA requires Office on Violence Against Women to administer justice and strengthen services for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
Rape crisis centers in the United States, usually capitalized as Rape Crisis Center and often abbreviated as RCC, are community-based organizations affiliated with the anti-rape movement in the U.S. Rape crisis centers in other countries offer similar services, but have different histories and vary in their organizational structure.
Intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV) deals with sexual violence within the context of domestic violence. Intimate partner sexual violence is defined by any unwanted sexual contact or activity by an intimate partner in order to control an individual through fear, threats, or violence. Women are the primary victims of this type of violence.
As sexual violence affects all parts of society, the responses that arise to combat it are comprehensive, taking place on the individual, administrative, legal, and social levels.
United Nations Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict a cross-UN initiative that unites the work of 24 United Nations entities with the goal of ending sexual violence in conflict. The inter-agency network is composed of 24 UN entities from a spectrum sectors including peacekeeping, political affairs, justice, human rights, humanitarian, health, gender equality and women's empowerment. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General Pramila Patten chairs the network which represents a concerted effort by the United Nations to improve coordination and accountability, amplify programming and advocacy, and support national efforts to prevent sexual violence and respond effectively to the needs of survivors. The UN Action Secretariat is based in the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict.
A rape crisis centre, also known as a sexual assault crisis centre or sexual assault referral centre (SARC), is a specialised centre to support victims of rape or other sexual assault, both in the immediate aftermath of the assault and in the months and sometimes years following the attack. They are usually situated in a secure location and employ a multidisciplinary team of practitioners to provide medical, psychological, and practical support to the victim.
The Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) is an interfaculty Harvard University initiative focused on research, practice, and policy in the field of humanitarian assistance. HHI's mission is to relieve human suffering in war and disaster by advancing the science and practice of humanitarian responses worldwide.
The anti-rape movement is a sociopolitical movement which is part of the movement seeking to combat violence against and the abuse of women. The movement seeks to change community attitudes to violence against women, such as attitudes of entitlement to sex and victim blaming, as well as attitudes of women themselves such as self-blame for violence against them. It also seeks to promote changes to rape laws or laws of evidence which enable rapists from avoid penalties because, for example, victims are discouraged from reporting assaults against them, or because the rapist is entitled to some immunity or because a rapist is capable in law of denigrating the victim. The movement has been successful in many jurisdictions, though many of these attitudes still persist in some jurisdictions, and despite changes to laws and significant increases in reporting of such assaults, in practice violence against women still persists at unacceptable high levels. The movement came about in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when new concepts of rape arose out of second wave feminism and the reevaluation of women's daily lives socially and with regard to the social institutions with which they interact. Prior to this reexamination, rape had been viewed as a "sex crime carried out by pathological men", who were unable to control their own sexual desires. Feminists began to emphasize the role of power dynamics specifically with regard to the perpetration of rape as a crime committed primarily by men against women. This revised definition of rape was meant to come from the perspective of the victim. The act of rape was asserted to be a way in which societal gender roles, the way someone acts out either masculinity or femininity, were enforced and the hierarchy of power placing males above females was maintained. Rape was thus defined as a form of violence used to ensure male power, a form of social control over women and children. Known as the "anti-rape" or "rape prevention" movement, it was founded with the conceptions that sexual violence and violence against women more generally is a tool of social control used to keep women in a subordinate position to men and that women need to do something that aids victims of sexual violence to become "survivors" of violence instead of victims. The anti-rape movement continues today, with growing awareness in the United States public sphere about the concept of rape culture coinciding with the increasing popularity of feminism.
The Zacharias Sexual Abuse Center is a non-profit rape crisis center operating in Gurnee, Illinois, and was incorporated in 1983. The center is a member organization of the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault (ICASA), which provides funding and statewide standards for 33 rape crisis centers throughout Illinois.
The Women's Shelter of South Texas was established in 1978 to provide emergency shelter and support for victims of domestic violence. Services expanded in 1993 to include survivors of sexual assault. New facilities were built in 1994 that allows up to 65 clients. In 1995, the Batterers Intervention and Prevention Program (BIPP) was established. In 1987 the agency expanded to provide services to rural areas in Alice, Beeville, Kingsville, and Sinton. The Shelter wants to include offices and a full staff in each location. The organization continues to educate and prevent sexual assault in South Texas.
Judi Jane Conway Patton is an American activist for women's safety and child abuse prevention. She served as the First Lady of Kentucky from December 12, 1995, until December 9, 2003, during the tenure of her husband, former Governor Paul E. Patton.
The National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) is an American nonprofit organization that addresses the causes and impact of sexual violence through collaboration, prevention, and resources. Working in collaboration with state and territory sexual assault coalitions, representatives from underserved populations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women, and a host of community-based and national allied projects, NSVRC provides national leadership to address and prevent sexual violence.
Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) is an annual campaign to raise public awareness about sexual assault and educate communities and individuals on how to prevent sexual violence in the United States. It is observed in April.
The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR) is the oldest anti-rape coalition in the United States, working to eliminate all forms of sexual violence and advocating for the rights and needs of victims.
Mary P. Koss is an American Regents' Professor at the University of Arizona, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health in Tucson, Arizona. Her best known works have been in the areas of gender-based violence and restorative justice.
Green Dot Bystander Intervention is a bystander education approach that aims to prevent violence with the help of bystanders. It is built on the premise that violence can be measurably and systematically reduced within a community. Bystander intervention as a way of violence prevention programs are becoming popular within society. Its mission is to reduce power-based violence by being a proactive bystander and a reactive bystander.
Patricia Occhiuzzo Giggans, also known as Patti Giggans, is a Los Angeles-based feminist activist and advocate for supporting victims of domestic violence.