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Mission
Sexual assault and childhood sexual abuse are horrific social phenomenons, leaving deep emotional scars on women, men and children who have survived it. Yet throughout society, cutting across all social strata, a conspiracy of silence surrounds the topic of sexual assault and abuse. Many victims of sexual assault feel isolated, ashamed and do not disclose their dark secret of sexual assault. Many encounter ongoing dificulties in their lives as partners and parents.
Our mission is to 1) encourage people to become aware of the subject and support survivors. 2) To help survivors reclaim their lives and let go of the guilt that so often follows sexual assault and abuse.
The guiding philosophy of Tel Aviv Sexual Assault Crisis Center can be summarized in four main principles: sexual assault is not sex- sexual assault is a criminal act and a violent crime, the victim is never the guilty party, there is no room for a judgmental attitiude towards victims, Center volunteers and callers/visitors are equal in status. One of the Tel Aviv Sexual Assault Crisis Center's primary missions is to reach those populations and communities of women and men who would not, under normal circumstances, come forward. We constantly aim to widen the scope of our services and activities and to fine-tune them to fit the needs of as many survivors as possible.
History
The Tel Aviv Sexual Assault Crisis Center, initially called the Tel Aviv Rape Crisis Center, was founded in 1978 by the Tel Aviv branch of the Israel Feminist Movement, evolving in 1982 into an independent, fully accredited, non-profit organization. Currently there are 11 additional Sexual Assault / Rape Crisis Centers operating in various locations in the country. The Tel Aviv Sexual Assault Crisis Center was the first such entity in Israel and remains the largest, offering the most services. From the beginning it was recognized that the Tel Aviv Sexual Assault Crisis Center has several parallel roles:
The Tel Aviv Sexual Assault Crisis Center's main service is its 24 hours a day, 7 days a week Hotline for women. The Hotline for Men, established in 1990, is the only such hotline for men in Israel. A designated Hotline for Religious Men and Youth was opened in 2003. A Russian speaking New Immigrant Hotline is on call when needed.
In the past few years the Tel Aviv Sexual Assault Crisis Center has handled over 11,000 calls annually, approximately a third of all calls received by all the Sexual Assault / Rape Crisis Centers in Israel.
The population served by the Tel Aviv Center is approximately 1.2 million, some 18% of the entire population of Israel.
People
The Tel Aviv Sexual Assault Crisis Center is directed by an elected 7-member Board of Directors. Financial and operational oversight is conducted by an elected 3-member Oversight Committee. The Center’s officers are elected by the organization’s approximately 200 volunteers from among themselves, on the basis of criteria set forth in the organization’s charter. The highly qualified Executive Director and 12-member professional staff manages the day-to-day administration and provide the professional support for the Center’s diverse services and activities. Volunteers at the Center have several main avenues of participation: staffing the Hotlines, fundraising, raising awareness, and engaging in the Education Department's broad outreach program to junior and senior high schools, boarding schools, army, places of employment and other sectors. They can also volunteer for information and library activities, organizing public events, and more.
Volunteer professionalism and well-being are crucial to our organization's sucess. Center volunteerstake 11,000 hotline calls per year, facilitate over 1000 workshops per yer, and have o date escorted over 2,000 victims of the sexual violence through the legal process. Crisis volunteers, including all hotline volunteers, must be prepared to work with individuals in states of extremem emotional distress. Because we want our volunteers to serve effectively in their roles while not compromising their own well-being, we take our training very seriously. All volunteers and staff memebers must participate in a 21-week training program. We then offer continues training for specialize volunteers on specific populations (religious, recently immigrated, and undocumented workers), and prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace. Volunteers must regularly attend supervision sessions and are suppoerted in their work by professional staff.
We highly value our volunteers and take pride in the Center's supportive atmosphere. Volunteers who join the Center gain an opportunity for in-depth knowledge on sexual assault and its implications as well a chance for deep personal introspection, reflection, and growth.
Awards and Accomplishments
Awards the Center and its volunteers have recieved include:
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President's Appreciation Prize from Tel Aviv University
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Volunteer Badge from the Presdent of Israel
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Volunteer Badge from the Ministry of Health
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Mayor's Badge fro Volunteer Excellence from the Tel Aviv Municipality
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Lenore & Larry Zusman JDC Prize for Excellence in the Field of Social Services in Israel.
Accomplishments at the Center include:
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Education and awarenes campaigns that have reached over 100,000 teens, women, and men from all sectors of Isreli society: Jews and Arabs, men and women, native Israelis and immigrants, secular and religious
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Successful passage of several legislative initiatives, including:
-The law prohibiting verbal and physical sexual assault int he workplace and declairing the workplace management responsible for prevention and treatment of any such abuse
-The law changing the legal stutus of a victim/survivor during the trial to one that obliges the court to update the victim/survivor about the trial and its outcome
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A two-year academic program in partnership with Bar Ilan University to train psychotherapists to treat sexual assault victims
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"Know Your Rights"- a published manual and a poster. The poster was distributed to all police stations and hospitals in the Tel Aviv Metropolitan area. Both contain detailed information regarding the rights of sexual assault victims, from the beginning with the physical examination in a hospital, through the police investigation, and concluding with the criminal trial.
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Strong partnerships with organizations for the mentally disabled, with the military, and in prisons to raise awareness, make environments safer, and to train staff to prevent abuse and handle reports of abuse
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Mainting a high profile in the President Moshe Katsav rape case. Began with an organized demonstration of 40,000 people that came out in support of the victims, and ended in conviction.
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