The Perils of Institutionalization in Neoliberal Times: Results of a National Survey of Canadian Sexual Assault and Rape Crisis Centres

This article reports on a national survey of Canadian rape crisis and sexual assault centres conducted in 2005. We situate our results in relation to feminist literature on the perils of institutionalization. We argue that institutionalization takes on new forms in the context of neoliberalism and w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian journal of sociology 2009-12, Vol.34 (1), p.135-163
Main Authors: Beres, Melanie A., Crow, Barbara, Gotell, Lise
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abused women
Allied health personnel
Canada
Care and treatment
Centers
Crime victims
Crisis Intervention
Economic liberalism
Evaluation
Feminism
Financial Support
Funding
Government finance
Institutional care
Institutionalization
Neoliberalism
Rape
Rape victim services
Rape victims
Sexual abuse
Sexual Assault
Sexual violence
Social change
Victim services
Victimization
Violence against women
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Summary:This article reports on a national survey of Canadian rape crisis and sexual assault centres conducted in 2005. We situate our results in relation to feminist literature on the perils of institutionalization. We argue that institutionalization takes on new forms in the context of neoliberalism and we emphasize the resistance of centres to underfunding and to individualized victims' services policy frameworks. Despite significant pressures to redefine as social service delivery agencies, Canadian centres continue to engage in social change activism and define themselves as specifically feminist/pro-woman/equality-seeking organizations. Our respondents vary significantly in size and resources, yet nearly all emphasize the significant obstacle of inadequate funding and all continue to rely heavily on the unpaid work of (usually women) volunteers to do more with less.
ISSN:0318-6431
1710-1123
DOI:10.29173/cjs1613