Working on Wife Abuse B

Working On Wife Abuse B. Warrior $5.00 Working On Wife Abuse Betsy Warrior Copyright 1976 Betsy Warrior First Edition April 1976 Second Expanded Edition July 1976 Third Expanded Revised Edition November 1976 Copyright 1977 Betsy Warrior Fourth Supplemented Edition March 1977 Fifth Supplemented Edition December 1977 Copyright 1978 Betsy Warrior Sixth Revised Expanded Edition April 1978 Seventh Supplemented Edition December 1978 ISBN 0-9601544-1-8 Fifth Edition ISBN 0-9601544-2-6 Sixth Edition ISBN 0-9601544-3-4 Seventh Edition This Edition of "Working On Wife Abuse " is dedicated to the Women's Educational Center, Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts, the oldest women’s center in the United States. Although it was not the first women's center to come into being, it has managed to survive through the years, longer than any other. For the many women who have used it, it has been an oasis of camaraderie, a source of information and ideas, a first introduction to the women’s movement, the main support and assistance to new innovative projects, and a home-away- from-home. Through the years, the work and energy of many women were needed and generously given to keep this center alive. It has managed to stay in existence, at times with almost no economic resources, because the poorest section of the community, women, could not afford to let it die. For many years now, Libby Bouvier has been a mainstay of the center, investing long, hard hours of work for no pay. This book is dedicated to all those women, who managed by sheer feminist grit, to keep the center open to serve all women and to make it what is today. This directory is far from comprehensive. For instance, there are many more refuges abroad than are listed here. Because of time and space considerations the list will pertain mostly to the United States. Even here, there are many people working on the issue that I'm not aware of. By the time this is distributed there will be others. I've contacted many of the people who appear in the directory and have received replies from them. Their comments about their work will appear beside their names. Others I haven't been able to contact or haven't received a reply from. As the movement to oppose wife abuse and the growing organization of forces against it were getting off the ground, the "Working On Wife Abuse " directory proved to be invaluable by making us aware of each other's existence and stimulating the growth of the movement. For many people it has become an indispensable tool for contact, information sharing, and referral. For these reasons, I've decided to continue publishing, adding the many organizations that have contacted me since the first edition. Some have sent descriptions of what they're doing in regard to battered women, others are interested women or women who would like to get involved or see services and refuges initiated in their areas. New information that will be helpful to shelter workers has also been added. I would like to thank Del Martin, Jean Luce, Molly Lovelock, Gabrielle Bernard, Susan Flint, Maryanne Renzi and Jean Rioux for all the help they have given me. I would also like to thank the people who have written me in support of this work. Their words of encouragement and incentive often came when they were most needed and are much appreciated. The names in this directory represent millions of hours of womanpower spent in an effort to expose and combat the physical and psychological terror women are threatened with and subjected to daily. For the most part, this effort has been put forth without thought of pay, career considerations or academic recognition. The existence of this directory is a tribute to the growing strength and determination of women to control their own lives. Working On Wife Abuse Betsy Warrior Sixth Edition April 1978 Table Of Contents INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................................ 1 DIRECTORY OF SHELTERS, SERVICES AND INDIVIDUALS UNITED STATES Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas ...................................................................................... 7 California, Colorado, Connecticut ............................................................................................ 8 District of Columbia, Delaware ……………………………………………………………..15 Florida, Georgia, Hawaii……………………………………………………………………..17 Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa……………………………………………………………….. 19 Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana ……………………………………………………...……….. 22 Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan ……………………………………………… 23 Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana ……………………………………………… 31 Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey ………………………………………… 33 New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota ………………………………… 36 Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon ………………………………………………………………… 41 Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota …………………………….. 44 Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia ……………………………………………… 48 Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming ……………………………………… 51 ABROAD Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark ………………………….…………………………. 54 England, Fiji, Finland, France ……………………………………………………...………..57 Germany, Greece, Ireland, Japan ……………………………………………………...…….58 Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway ……………………………………………… 50 Scotland, Switzerland ……………………………………………………...………………. 60 PUBLICATIONS AND FILMS California – Massachusetts ……………………………………………………...………… 64 Massachusetts – Australia ……………………………………………………...…………. 67 Australia – Switzerland ……………………………………………………...……………. 70 FUNDING INFORMATION California - New York ……………………………………………………...……………. 76 SERVICES THAT CAN BE PROVIDED FOR BATTERED WOMEN WITHOUT HAVING A SHELTER ………………………………… Betsy Warrior ………………………………… 78 PRACTICAL INFORMATION ON SHELTER PROCEDURES ……………………………………… Lynn Lyell, Melissa Woods, Betsy Warrior ………….. 90 MARRIAGE COUNSELING AND OTHER "OPTIONS" …………Betsy Warrior ………… 73 WHY REFUGES? ……………………………… Betsy Warrior …………………………….62 SUPPLEMENT Alabama ……………………………………………………………………..…………… 103 New Jersey……………………………………………………………………..………… 113 PUBLICATIONS AND FILMS ……………………………………………………………...123 ILLUSTRATIONS Leaving ………………………………… Cheri Jimendez ………………………………… 0 Women Support Women ………………... Betsy Warrior ……………………………… 102 Sexism Kills - Stop Woman Abuse ……… Rachel Burger ……………………………… 51 New Start ………………………………. Cheri Jimendez ……………………………… 74 [Illustration] Cheri J. Working On Wife Abuse INTRODUCTION TO LISTING The idea of refuges for women in intolerable living situations is not a new one Even before the incredible growth of sanctuaries for battered wives in England started, proving the tremendous need for such places, refuges of sorts have existed for hundreds of years. The refuges that have been established in the past, though, have certain significant, all-important differences from the ones being established today. Shelters of the past hardly had women flocking to their doors--women from all strata of life—filling them to capacity as the refuges of today in Britain do. Neither did past refuges address (let alone try to solve) the problem of battered women as a flaw in the social fabric that highlighted the generally brutal and degrading treatment women received. Most sanctuaries for women in the past were affiliated with religious bodies, charitable organizations or community governmental groups. Some of these refuges still exist today. Often convents, hospitals, asylums, charitable institutions, poor houses, etc., offered women in extreme crisis a place to go temporarily or permanently. These refuges functioned to serve the needs of the family unit, the community, the governments and the status quo, rather than the long term well-being of the women who sought shelter there. In this respect, they served as a safety valve for the social institutions with which women were in conflict. They bound a woman's immediate wounds, gave her advice on how to adjust and cope with her situation and sent her back or kept her forever within their confines. During the Middle Ages, many women entered convents to escape from the harsh realities of feminine life: constant childbearing, drudgery, poverty and male violence. Many women in crisis, though, were loath to enter the strict confines of these sanctuaries, whether convents, hospitals or charities. Others felt they would receive no real understanding or sympathy there. For many women the streets became their refuge, and even brothels their sanctuary from the family or community Indeed, most refuges for women weren't refuges at all, but were merely forced to serve as such for lack of better alternatives. Many of the refuges that are being established now are crucially different from those of the past in that they unequivocally put the interests of the women who use them in the forefront. In contrast, traditional refuges upheld the tenet that when the interests of men, the family or community were in conflict with women's needs, social priorities decreed that women's interests be run counter to or remain unmet. As an illustration of this we might look at the experience of some women in Amsterdam who are trying to aid women in crisis. In January, 1974, six women in Amsterdam, all of whom worked in welfare work, got together. We knew from our own personal experience that women were not taken seriously; we knew from our professional experience that the "helping" services do not take the abuse of women seriously. Welfare work never begins with the woman herself, but with her relationship with a man. Abuse of women, as such,

Load more