Rape Crisis Centers - Progress and Problems

This paper reviews the literature on the crisis and the aftermath of rape. This review suggests that women experience both short and long term psychological difficulties as a result of being raped. Two questionnaires were sent to various rape crisis centers across the country in an attempt to identify the nature and extent of services provided by the centers, to determine the number of rape victims seen at the centers, and to understand some of the problems confronted by the service providers. From the data gathered from the centers it is clear that women are receiving crisis intervention and supportive services immediately following a rape incident. However, the areas of crisis counseling and long term follow‐up remain problematic. It was found that 62% of rape victims received one follow‐up contact, 33% received two to five follow‐up contacts and only 8% received six or more follow‐up contacts. Differences found based on center location and staffing patterns are also discussed.