History
The seeds that later grew into the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault were first planted at the second annual meeting of the National Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NCASA), held in Austin in 1980. Several women who attended that meeting began to talk about the possibility of creating a state organization for rape crisis centers in Texas to help relieve the isolation of programs who were providing services for rape survivors, although at that time, they were still called rape “victims.” (The emphasis on survival did not come until a little later in our history.) These early visionaries were clear that the purpose of such an organization would be to effect change through education and legislation.
The Texas Association Against Sexual Assault, in its present form, started in April, 1982 in Galveston, Texas. Under the guidance of Mary Jane Worst, then director of the Galveston Rape Crisis Center, about forty sexual assault activists held their first conference at UTMB. Jean Turner of Waco was elected the first president of the TAASA board of directors.
From its inception, TAASA has never veered from its vision of a society free from sexual violence and its mission of serving as an advocate for individual sexual assault survivors as well as sexual assault programs collectively. That advocacy has taken the form of supporting legislation favorable to victims and strengthening laws against sexual predators, as well as advocating for increased funding for sexual assault programs at the Federal and state levels.
¤ Developed, with the Texas Department of Health, the first rules for the Federal Preventive and Health Services Block Grant funds in 1981. A committee of executive directors from various rape crisis centers headed by Sylvia Callaway drafted a proposal which allowed Sherri Goode to become the first Sexual Assault Program Specialist at TDH. She was later succeeded by Ann Robison of Beaumont and Cecelia McKenzie of Big Spring, both previous TAASA board members and heads of sexual assault programs.
¤ Jean Turner of Waco was elected the first President of TAASA in 1982.
¤ In 1983, TAASA is incorporated. Listed as incorporators were Janie Bush and Karen Kay of Dallas and Jane Bingham of Fort Worth. The first board of directors included: Jane Bingham (Ft. Worth, Professional Standards & Training Task Force), Janie Bush (Dallas, Child Sexual Assault Task Force), Susie Hudson (Tyler, Legislative Task Force), Karen S. Day (Dallas, Secretary/Treasurer), Cindy Medina (San Marcos, Newsletter), Richard Orton (Austin, Public Education Task Force), Ann Robison (Beaumont, Legislative Task Force), Jean Turner (Waco, President), Mary Jane Worst (Galveston, Newsletter), and Carolyn Bray (Abilene, Vice President). TAASA’s Code of Ethics was developed in 1983 by the Professional Standards and Training Task Force. Also that year, TAASA’s lobbyist, Barbara Duke, successfully pushed state funding for rape crisis centers through the Texas legislature with the help of TAASA’s Legislative Committee. The Legislature also revised the laws pertaining to rape, including changing “rape” to “sexual assault” and lengthening the statute of limitations.
¤ In 1984, Sherri Goode-Sunaz and Richard Orton created the first Sexual Assault Awareness Week in 1984, which was expanded to a month in 1991.
¤ In 1985, TAASA divided the state into four regions with the right to elect representatives to the TAASA board. This allowed for a broader representation of centers around the state as well as better communication between the board and its members. Also in 1985, the Public Education Task Force produced an annotated bibliography of resources for rape education.
¤ In 1987, the Child Sexual Assault Task Force coordinated regional workshops. Sites included Corpus Christi, Big Spring, Houston, San Angelo, and Abilene. Also in 1987, the board established annual awards.
¤ In 1988, the Professional Standards Task Force finalized and approved a certification process and sample training manual in 1988.
¤ In 1993, TAASA obtained its 501(c)(3) federal tax exempt status.
¤ In June, 1996, TAASA was awarded a $40,000 VAWA grant, which enabled TAASA to open a statewide office and hire a Community Education Coordinator, Eileen Cowan Gould. In September 1996, TAASA was awarded a grant from the Sexual Assault Prevention and Crisis Services Division of the Office of the Attorney General, and hired its first Executive Director, Carol Townsend.
¤ In 1997, TAASA’s staff has expanded to five full-time and one part-time position. TAASA begins producing and distributing topical brochures, which was previously handled at the OAG. Over 200,000 are distributed the first year. Also in the 1997 Legislative Session, TAASA successfully lobbies for changes in the statute of limitations for victims of child sexual abuse.
¤ In 1998, TAASA received the Ellen Halbert award from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Crime Victim Services for outstanding contribution to victim services in Texas.
¤ 1999 marks the year that TAASA steps up its development of youth focused materials including fact sheets for teens, training materials for youth educators in English and Spanish, and other handouts specific to this population.
¤ The Year 2000 brought more changes to TAASA, for TAASA hired a new Executive Director, Sherry Boyles, and received a grant from the Crime Victims’ Compensation Fund totaling $250,000. TAASA expanded its office into additional space and hired several new positions. The first male president of the board, John Cade is elected in May 2000.
¤ In 2001, TAASA has a diverse board of directors including over 50% people of color and four male representatives. The Board shifts to a Policy Governance Model. Public Awareness becomes a clear focus for TAASA and in early 2001 the first Communications Director was hired to promote media attention to the issue. The Students Taking Action for Respect (STARS) program was born. The first conference for these students was held at Southwest Texas State University in July of 2001. October 2001 marks the first annual Sex Crimes Conference for judges, district attorney’s and law enforcement. TAASA has an extremely successful legislative session that results in several new laws including increasing the statute of limitations for sexual assault to 10 years and eliminating it altogether if forensic evidence was collected. In 2001, TAASA received a $2 million dollar grant from the Texas Office of the Attorney General for a Public Awareness Campaign.
¤ In January 2002, Sherry Boyles resigned to run for public office and Annette Burrhus-Clay was promoted to Executive Director. In 2002, TAASA and the OAG jointly sponsored a prevalence study of sexual assault in Texas which was conducted by the UT School of Social Work and Texas A & M. The data was collected through random phone calling in the summer of 2002. This same summer opinion research was conducted which formed the basis of TAASA’s public awareness campaign. Additional staff is hired in 2002 to assist with special projects, event planning, and technical assistance. TAASA is regularly utilizing university interns to work within our programs. In 2002, a statewide Public Awareness Task Force was formed, co-chaired by Kelly White of SafePlace in Austin and Chris Lippincott of TAASA.TAASA and the OAG jointly fund the first Statewide Prevalence Survey on Sexual Assault in 2002, which is conducted by the UT School of Social Work and Texas A & M. Texas is one of the few states in the country to have state specific data on the incidence of sexual assault. 100,000 book covers addressing sexual harassment are distributed to Texas Junior High Schools in 2002.
¤ Primetime PSA’s on television and radio begin airing in April 2003. Six sexual assault survivors using their own faces, names, and stories begin to educate the public about sexual abuse. There is an immediate and dramatic increase in hotline calls and website hits during the campaign. TAASA receives over $1 million in in-kind donations to supplement this campaign. Led by Special Projects Director Victoria Hilton, in 2003 TAASA coordinates two statewide initiatives including: developing a Statewide Model Protocol for Working with SA Victims, and developing Outcomes Measures for SA Programs. In 2003, TAASA distributes over 300,000 brochures, as well as 57,000 fact sheets, 37,000 Green Ribbons, 9180 Survivor Booklets. By 2003, TAASA is annually training almost 3000 individuals in over 50 individual trainings. September 2003, TAASA’s Spanish language website was launched. Anita Perry, First Lady of Texas is hired in October 2003, for Outreach & Development. She immediately starts to bring more recognition and private/corporate funding to our work. In 2003, the research conducted through for the public awareness campaign was developed into 5 TV commercials, 3 radio commercials and 2 posters featuring 6 sexual assault survivors. In addition, the results of the prevalence study were released finding that at any one time 1 in 5 Texas woman and 1 in 20 Texas men have been victims of sexual assault.
¤ By early 2004, STAR students are over 300 strong and have provided positive youth development programming to over 10,000 students in 150 Texas communities. In 2004, the public awareness campaign received 4 Mercury awards.
¤ In 2005, TAASA continued its award-winning Speak up. Speak out campaign. Seven Texas survivors participated in developing new ads for television, radio and print distribution. Seven additional survivors wrote, directed and produced short films about their victimization and recovery through the Digital Storytelling Project. 2005 also marked the initiation of TAASA’s Marketing and Promotions Consultancy program which provides intensive technical assistance to member rape crisis centers to enhance their presence in their communities. Over 5,000 individuals were trained by TAASA staff in 2005 through 85 regional trainings and 3 conferences. Almost 350,000 materials were distributed in 2005 including the popular Sexual Assault, Trauma and Spiritual Healing booklet, a copy of which was requested for each Catholic Church in San Antonio, by the Archdiocese of San Antonio. The implementation of The Strategic Plan to Prevent Violence Against Women in Texas continued to progress with the hiring of a part-time coordinator. Finally, 2005 marked the renewal of the Violence Against Women Act, which included the creation of the Sexual Assault Services Act, a new funding stream for the funding of rape crisis services and coalition activities.
¤ 2006 saw a renewed focus on the primary prevention of sexual violence. Each rape crisis center in Texas was asked to serve as a catalyst to start their local communities thinking realistically about what it would take to stop sexual violence from happening in the first place. RAINN’s online hotline also went live in 2006 with the San Antonio Rape Crisis Center playing a major role. Lyn Williams, TAASA Training Director was appointed to the Governor’s Criminal Justice Advisory Council.
¤ In 2007, TAASA spearheaded the establishment of a fee on sexually oriented business to provide a new, stable and long-term revenue source for sexual assault related services in Texas. Suit was filed in December in the 345th District Court, Travis County challenging the fee. TAASA launched its first blog “Speaking Out” in September to increase awareness of news coverage about sexual violence across the state. Jessica’s Law passes in Texas increasing the penalties and extending the statute of limitations for sexual abuse against children, particularly children under 14 years of age.
¤ The Mobilizing Men Task Force and Volunteer Management Certification program both began in 2008. TAASA’s focus on primary prevention continued and strengthened this year with the hiring of two additional primary prevention staffers, making the prevention team at TAASA five members strong. The Speak Up! Speak Out! Campaign continued with billboards translated into Chinese and posted in the Dallas area.
¤ 2009 witnessed an intense, but ultimately successful, struggle during the 81st legislative session to stop a repeal of the adult entertainment fee which remains in the courts.