History

The Sexual Assault Resource Center was founded by two sexual assault survivors in 1977. SARC operates 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. We are a non-profit organization funded by government grants, foundations, and private donations.

Mission

Our mission is to promote social justice by eliminating sexual violence in our community through education, support and advocacy.

Philosophy

At SARC we use the word survivor rather than victim to describe someone who has been sexually assaulted in order to reflect the person’s intrinsic strength and healing capacity. We operate on the basis of empowering the survivor by encouraging them to make their own choices. We recognize that sexual assault is based on anger, power, and control and the survivor is never to blame. Our role is to ensure that survivors get the information they need, that they are listened to, and that they are treated with sensitivity, respect and dignity.

Our philosophy reflects our knowledge that sexual assault has no boundaries of race, age, language, gender, economic class, disability or religion. We believe that the survivor need not be alone during their healing process.