Fifty years ago, as rape crisis centers opened throughout the country, 14 women gathered on a Thursday night in the auditorium of the YWCA in Wilkes-Barre.
At that meeting on May 16, 1974, they pledged to support victims of rape and sexual violence by forming the Luzerne County chapter of Women Organized Against Rape, or WOAR.
“Rape is a definitely problem in Luzerne County,” Kate Lavery, the woman who would become the organization’s executive director, told The Times Leader in 1974. “WOAR will be a place where the rape victim can go to get advice.”
That organization is now The Victims Resource Center, and over the past 50 years, second executive director Janet MacKay said its services have grown far beyond what those original 14 members could have possibly imagined.
“We don’t stay stale,” she said. “We change as the need is there.”
MacKay was awarded the Lifetime Advocacy Award when the Victims Resource Center celebrated 50 years earlier this month.
When the first volunteer group formed, they studied the medical, legal, police and social services available to victims of rape and sexual violence. One thing that has never changed, MacKay said, is the availability of a 24-hour hotline.
“We also go out at any time to accompany victims, either at the hospital or sometimes police stations will call us and ask us to come support them,” MacKay said.
Many women didn't report assaults
When the group formed, Lavery told The Times Leader rape was the “only issue” they would focus on. MacKay said at the time, women rarely reported sexual crimes and the criminal justice system often did not believe those who did.
“Even when I started, there was still a lot of (people) not happy with us, not willing to work with us, not believing victims, that kind of thing,” she said. “That has improved tremendously over the years.”
Luzerne County’s WOAR chapter became The Victims Resource Center, or VRC, and expanded its counseling and assistance services to include victims of other crimes such as assaults and harassment, as well as those who lost loved ones to homicide.
MacKay started just as they were expanding services into Wyoming County in 1986, where the Tunkhannock office included services for victims of domestic violence.
“Then, there was a growing need for homicide survivors, the family members of those that were murdered, to have a place that they could feel supported,” MacKay said. “We have a homicide survivor support group that we’ve had for many years, and it’s still going strong.”
Expanding footprint, offerings
Eventually, MacKay said, another population emerged in need of help: men who had experienced sexual abuse, often as children.
“A lot of them were sexually abused as children and they hadn’t told anybody,” she said. “Now, they were adults and they … had a lot of problems coping with that.”
The VRC expanded its outreach to make sure men knew services existed for them as well.
In 1999, they opened an office in Carbon County which included services specifically for victims of juvenile offenders. In 2016, as human trafficking became a more prevalent issue, the VRC held a conference that led to the creation of the NEPA Task Force Against Human Trafficking.
VRC CEO Suzanne Beck said that task force now has 96 members and its reach continues to grow. The VRC now employs a dedicated Human Trafficking Advocate to help survivors of trafficking.
“It’s very active,” she said. “That’s been a huge change in how we respond to that crime.”
In addition to advocacy and crisis intervention, VRC also provides support groups and education throughout the community about its services and how to connect with care.
Beck said they have always offered additional confidentiality to victims who report to them: VRC employees cannot be compelled to testify in court.
“It is unique specifically to a domestic violence center or a rape crisis center,” she said. “If you’re just going to a private therapist, that level of confidentiality is not secured.”
'An honor' to do the work
Throughout the years, MacKay says she has watched and fought for the changing of laws and attitudes about rape, domestic violence and victim-blaming.
But those wins aren’t what motivated her.
“It’s the individual people that we served and the stories that you hear,” she said. “They come to us at the most vulnerable time, and they bare their souls. You can’t not be impacted by that.”
Beck said that’s what keeps her coming to work daily.
“I’ve done the work for 34 years, and you meet some of the very best people just going through the worst times of their lives,” she said.
“To be able to walk with them through that is just so humbling. It’s an honor to be able to do this work.”
If you or someone you know needs help, the VRC is available 24 hours a day at (610) 379-0151 in Carbon County, (570) 823-0765 in Luzerne County and (570) 836-5544 in Wyoming County.
