A safe place

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The Gisborne Rape Crisis Collective commemorates 40 years this week, of supporting survivors of sexual abuse within our community. The organisation reflects on its history . . .

A humble abode, from humble beginnings.

The Gisborne Rape Crisis/Whanau Ahuru Mowai o Turanganui-a-Kiwa has provided refuge for women and survivors of sexual abuse since 1979.

It was a groundbreaking cause led by Gisborne women, one of the first organisations of its kind to be established in New Zealand.

It would not be until six years later, in 1985, that a national body would be formed.

Next weekend, the Gisborne collective will acknowledge and commemorate 40 years of supporting women in the community.

Part of the anniversary celebrations is to acknowledge the strength of those early women for having the foresight and perseverance to buy a house as a refuge for local women.

The journey began during the 1970s, when the second wave of the women’s feminist movement swept across New Zealand, influenced by political initiatives in the United States and Britain.

The movement sought to fundamentally change the position of women, by raising consciousness.

Women’s networks and groups sprang up around the country, and a key issue for many participants in those early groups was violence against women.

The three main responses to the issue were women’s refuges, the anti-pornography movement, and the setting up of rape crisis centres.

Before the 1970s, there was little public discussion of rape and domestic violence.

It is fair to say that their extent was largely unknown when the first rape crisis centres and women’s refuges opened.

The monthly feminist magazine Broadsheet started in Auckland in 1972 and was a significant factor in the emergence of women’s activist collectives.

The August 1974 issue focused on violence against women and contained a number of articles on rape.

Broadsheet also published articles that described some of the overseas groups such as Women’s Refuge in Sydney, and the Women Against Rape group in the US.

In 1975 a Broadsheet article stated that some local groups were considering setting up rape crisis centres “in answer to the growing incidence of this ultimate violation of a woman’s body”.

The first Women’s Refuge was set up in Christchurch 1974 and in 1975 the Auckland Women’s Centre set up a Rape Crisis Centre with a permanent rape crisis phone line operational in Auckland by 1978.

In Gisborne in 1979, a group of local women who were aware of what was happening within the women’s movement both internationally and nationally, decided to set up a telephone support line. Women could ring in anonymously and get advice on a range of issues pertinent to women, such as health matters and contraception. They were also told how to access abortion services which at that time required travelling to Australia.

The phone line had very humble beginnings. It was operated out of the back room of a grocery store in Ormond Road.

It quickly became apparent that many of the calls were from women who had experienced some form of sexual abuse, and so the idea to set up a dedicated local Rape Crisis Centre was formed.

Helping women to healIn early 1981 a public meeting was held to ascertain whether there was enough support within the community for a permanent rape crisis hotline.

Around 50 people put their hands up to train as volunteers, and on February 23, 1981 a dedicated rape crisis telephone answering service started in Gisborne operating from 6pm to 6am.

Callers were referred to a counsellor on duty at that time.

The local women also managed to meet the then Minister of Womens’ Affairs, Ann Hercus, and subsequently received funding which allowed some of the group to undertake specialised counselling training.

They then started a counselling and support service out of the old Plunket rooms in Palmerston Road.

But they were soon asked to move on because some members of the public voiced their discomfort at seeing the visible presence of “Rape Crisis” in the centre of town.

The women were undeterred and continued to try to gain acceptance within the community and to raise public awareness around the issue of rape.

It wasn’t always easy. During a talk given to a local Lions club the Rape Crisis speaker had a tomato thrown at her.

As the counselling and phone line workload steadily increased the women decided to try to buy a house of their own to work from. They did all sorts of activities to raise money for the deposit — selling crafts they had made via flea markets and galas, running raffles, holding fundraising dinners, quiz and movie nights and even undertaking a 45 km sponsored bikeathon out to Muriwai and back.

Eventually in January 1989, they had raised enough and managed to secure a mortgage from the ANZ bank allowing them to purchase “Whaiora – House of Healing”, the freehold whare that Gisborne Rape Crisis continues to operate out of today, 40 years later.

The core work of Rape Crisis has remained largely unchanged since its inception.

In 1995, the Mission Statement of the National Collective of Rape Crisis and Related Groups of Aotearoa Inc declared the intent to work toward the elimination of rape and sexual abuse against women and children by:

providing counselling and support services for survivors of sexual violenceproviding education/prevention servicesincreasing public awareness of the issues of rape and sexual abuseincreasing the number of trained professionals in the area of rape and sexual abuse.Rape Crisis has always advocated politically for better outcomes for women.

In 1983 Gisborne Rape Crisis, among others, provided a submission on the Rape Law Reform Bill in the hopes of including a charge of rape within marriage into the Crimes Act.

The law used to be that a man could not be convicted of raping his wife unless they were living apart in separate households at the time of the offence.

The Parliamentary process took until 1985 when marital rape finally became a crime, with marriage no longer a defence to sexual violation despite the parties living together.

Gisborne Rape Crisis has also published a book He Tapu To Tinana – Your Body is Special. Collective members consulted with teachers and then wrote and illustrated the book, which is targeted at children.

It teaches them to trust their feelings. If they are uncomfortable in a situation, it offers practical advice for the child, and parents.

The 1990s were tough for service organisations as there was very little institutional funding. Gisborne Rape Crisis struggled but managed to stay afloat.

The organisation became creative and roped in a group of supporters within the community to start the Friends of Rape Crisis.

This wider group of people actively fundraised to ensure there were resources available for the counselling and phone line to keep going.

Communicating the mahi (work) that was being done at the whare, and keeping it front and centre in the public’s eye became crucial to accessing the donations needed as there was still a huge demand for Rape Crisis services through this period.

In 1995 the National Collective of Rape Crisis and Related Groups of Aotearoa Inc had 23 local groups throughout New Zealand, from Kaitaia to Invercargill, with around 250 paid and unpaid workers.

From 1992 to 1995, the entire organisation saw between 2000 to 3000 clients each year.

While there was demand for their services, many Rape Crisis groups were hamstrung by lack of funding and personnel.

In 2002 the National Rape Crisis Office closed, leaving branches to carry on by themselves or close their doors.

The Gisborne collective again dug deep and sought funding from local sources to allow the work to continue.

Some of the most generous local funders have been the Community Organisations Grants Scheme (COGS), the Eastland and Central Community Trust and the J.N. Williams Trust.

Additional funding at times came from the Lotteries Board.

Most recently, Gisborne Rape Crisis has secured consistent funding from the Ministry of Social Development.

That has meant an increase in the number of counsellors, and has enabled them to travel to Wairoa and up the East Coast to provide support.

Educating the public about the issue of sexual abuse, and especially about consent, continues to be an area where Gisborne Rape Crisis has a strong commitment.

The collective continues to formulate and present their own workshops on topics like teen suicide, self esteem, date rape and consent.

Currently Gisborne Rape Crisis is sponsoring three young wahine Maori to become youth advocates and develop workshops specifically tailored for other rangatahi.

Today the work of the local collective remains the same as it did 40 years ago, offering a free and confidential counselling service for people who have, or are being affected by sexual violence, relationship troubles, stress or family violence, supporting women, and their whanau, to heal.?