Our mission is to promote social justice by eliminating sexual violence in our community through education, support, and advocacy.
PHILOSOPHY
SARC recognizes that sexual assault can and does happen to anyone. Members of historically marginalized communities are more likely to be affected by sexual violence and more likely to experience barriers to accessing services and seeking justice. SARC strives to be culturally responsive and to be intentional in our efforts to support communities disproportionately impacted by sexual violence.
We also understand that identities are intersectional and oppressions are interlinked. In order to more fully serve those who have experienced sexual violence, we as an agency recognize that we must also work to address, challenge, and resist other forms of violence and oppression.
HISTORY
In 1977, two sexual assault survivors formed Rape Crisis Center, Inc., in Hillsboro, Oregon, as a nonprofit devoted to providing caring and compassionate support and advocacy to survivors of sexual assault. In 2001, the organization changed its name to the Sexual Assault Resource Center, or SARC, to better reflect the agency’s mission and vision of serving people who have experienced all types of sexual assault and violence. SARC is currently located in Beaverton, Oregon.
For over 40 years, SARC’s dedicated staff and volunteers have been providing crisis intervention and ongoing support services to folks who have been impacted by sexual violence. Crisis intervention, including phone support and in-person response, is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Our operations are funded through government grants and generous donations from private foundations, companies, and individual donors, so that we may always offer our services to clients at no charge.
SARC also offers sexual assault prevention education to schools, nonprofit agencies, and community groups. Our evidence-based curriculum aims to deconstruct unhealthy social norms and promote healthy norms to promote a safe and equitable society free of sexual violence