THE WOMEN'S CENTER

Our Philosophy

We believe that attaining gender equality requires the elimination of all oppressions. We work to raise awareness about issues affecting women and other oppressed groups. We provide space for the empowerment, growth, and encouragement of women. We are dedicated to bringing about social and economic justice. Therefore, we prioritize group empowerment over the desires of individuals.

Our Mission

The goal of the Women's Center is justice. We celebrate the victories, voices, and the survival of women - individually and collectively. Our mission is:

To provide women with the resources and support they need to emerge from conditions of domestic violence, sexual abuse, poverty, discrimination, social isolation, and degradation.

To challenge and change the attitudes, actions, and institutions that subjugate women.

Our History

During the 60's and 70's, women experienced a pressing need for information, resources, and support to fight the discrimination they experienced. They also sought a space for activism. In 1971, a large group of women dramatized this need through direct action by seizing an abandoned, Harvard-owned building on Memorial Drive. Inspired by their actions and subsequent organizing efforts, many local supporters generously contributed toward the purchase of 46 Pleasant Street in Cambridge - the Women's Center.

Our Achievements

Developed and nurtured the Rape Crisis Center starting in 1973 through its evolution into an independent organization, the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, (BARCC) in 1987

Assisted in forming the first battered women's shelter in the state, Transition House, in 1973

Assisted in the development of Finex House, the first wheelchair accessible shelter in Massachusetts

Assisted in the development of the Elizabeth Stone House, which houses battered women and women with mental illnesses

Provided a home, in 1980, to the first mutual support organization for survivors of child sexual abuse in the country, Incest Resources, Inc., which continues to flourish at the Women's Center to this day

Developed and organized an annual Women's Health Day (starting in 1993) held in Cambridge, MA, where women found a wide array of free workshops and information about women's health issues

Provided free counseling services to hundreds of low-income, uninsured women

Trained more than 100 women in basic computer and Internet skills

Developed a project, Women of Action (WOA) in 2002, a grassroots empowerment organizing group of low-income women working for social and economic justice. WOA won MBTA access for women with strollers last year

Provided 60 families with free mother-child art classes during the past year alone