HARRISBURG—The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR) appreciates the strong partnership of Governor Tom Wolf and the legislature in supporting survivors of sexual assault, abuse and rape. PCAR represents 47 non-profit rape crisis centers providing a range of free and confidential services to more than 30,000 individuals in every county of the state.
We value our state policy-makers as partners who support survivors and the care they need—including free long-term counseling services from professionals with specialized trauma-informed training to meet complex needs due to the trauma of sexual harassment, abuse and assault. The need for these services continues to increase as individuals experience uncertainty in the pandemic and power imbalances in housing and employment.
In the governor’s proposed budget, he recognized this continued need and proposed level funding of $11.9 million support rape crisis centers and ensure services will continue to be available in every county. This is a meaningful measure to help survivors as we know 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men have experienced rape in their lifetime. Additionally, 1 in 9 girls and 1 in 53 boys under the age of 18 experience sexual abuse or assault at the hands of an adult.
PCAR CEO, Karen Baker’s praised the funding announcement as, “PCAR and the network of rape crisis centers greatly appreciate the support of Governor Wolf and our state legislature to offer services to victims of rape and sexual violence. The governor’s announcement today demonstrates his continued commitment to ensuring survivors access to necessary counseling to help them reach their goals in healing from trauma. We thank him for his support and look forward to working with the legislature during this year’s state budget as equally strong supporters of sexual violence survivors.”