Feminism
(or The Women’s Liberation Movement) is an ongoing movement dedicated
to eliminating the social and legal injustices experienced by women as a
group. Such injustices include but are not limited to beliefs,
policies, practices, and laws that limit or deny to women equal
autonomy, opportunity, authority, recognition, and resources, and those
that prevent women from having a full and free voice in the shaping of
their own lives and of society. Feminism holds that such injustices are
based on sexism, which consists in the devaluing of women,
whether by men, women, or institutions.
Feminism
has a long history, with roots in the 16th century. In the early 19th
century, feminists in the United Kingdom and the United States fought
for, and won, equal contract and property rights for women and
vehemently opposed “chattel marriage,” in which married women (and their
children) were the property of their husbands. Susan B. Anthony argued
that a woman should be allowed to refuse sex with her husband, for at
that time an American woman had no legal recourse against rape by her
husband. Of primary importance to Anthony was granting a woman the right
to her own body, which she saw as an essential element for the
prevention of unwanted pregnancies. A major victory to come from this
era of feminism was women’s right to vote.
By the
mid-20th century, the feminist movement had grown to address a wide
range of issues, including unofficial inequalities and official legal
inequalities in sexuality, family, and the workplace. In the early
1970’s, women in Champaign Urbana formed a feminist coalition called
Women Against Rape. They also founded the Rape Crisis Center – a
resource for women who had been raped to get help, and receive
counseling – and had set up a 24-hour hotline by February 1974. By the
end of the decade, they had formed A Woman’s Fund, an organization that
offered shelter to allow battered women and their children to escape
abusive households, and continued to run the Rape Crisis Center. These
women were active in many aspects of the feminist movement: promoting
women’s right to control their bodies, equal pay for equal work, and
equal treatment and access in educationally and the professions. Rape Advocacy, Counseling, & Education Services
is one fruit their amazing work, the daughter of that original Rape
Crisis Center.
While we focus on the problems surrounding rape, the feminist movement is
its context and inspiration. In particular, our agency owes its existence
to the energy and dedication of individual feminists in our area, past
and present. We are committed to serving our clients while never
losing sight of the larger feminist struggle.
We
recognize that feminism has brought about great progress for many women,
but also that more remains to be done for all those who remain
oppressed or endangered. Feminism continues to grow and change. Partly
because we can celebrate the progress that society has made toward truly
recognizing women as equal to men, feminism has broadened its scope and
recognizes that to truly achieve equality and respect for women’s
sexuality we need to achieve equality and respect for all human beings
regardless of their differences.
Our view of feminism is that it is the affirmation that everyone is
entitled to equitable treatment regardless of race, religion,
nationality, abilities, sexual orientation, physical characteristics, or
any other status that might affect the fairness with which they are
treated. Feminists particularly work to address the social injustices
experienced by members of marginalized groups, especially as relating to
women and children. As a feminist agency, we are committed to valuing
each individual's experience and creating a safe environment for staff
and community members as well as those we serve.
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