In all that we do, Women’s Crisis Center’s focus is on empowering victim-survivors. This is known as “empowerment-based” or “survivor-centered” advocacy. As we strive to empower victim-survivors of domestic violence, rape, and sexual assault, we:
- believe that each victim-survivor is the “expert” on her own life, future, and circumstances; she knows herself, and what is best for her.
- equip victim-survivors with the knowledge, tools, support, resources, and guidance necessary to increase their own safety, stability, and well-being.
- engage in active listening to enable each victim-survivor to identify her needs—as she perceives them—so that we may assist her in meeting them.
- encourage victim-survivors to explore options that resonate with them.
- seek input from—and honor the opportunity to engage with—victim-survivors during all phases of their respective journeys.
- emphasize trauma-informed care principles, and constantly strive to uphold the highest trauma-informed standards within every facet of our agency—from our physical spaces, to our word choices, to our every interaction with clients, staff members, volunteers, agency partners, and the community, at-large.
All agency staff—both direct-service and administrative—undergo rigorous training to orient them to the dynamics of domestic violence, rape, and sexual assault.
Women’s Crisis Center believes that abusers alone—not victim-survivors—are responsible for the acts of violence they commit. Our agency is a haven of safety and comfort for victim-survivors; for this reason, we do not serve perpetrators of violence.
