The Athens Rape Crisis Line was established in January 1974 when women of the Boulevard Community in Athens formed a neighborhood patrol to protect one another and help police capture a serial rapist threatening their neighborhood.  The Athens Rape Crisis Line was the first anit-sexual organization formed in Georgia and was a founding member of the Georgia Network to End Sexual Assault  (GNESA).

 

In 1990, the Rape Crisis Line received funding to hire staff and open an office in Athens.  The name was changed to the Rape Crisis Center of Northeast Georgia.  The Rape Crisis Center became a non-profit, volunteer organization, which provides services to rape survivors in Athens and the 10 surrounding counties  (Barrow, Clarke, Elbert, Greene, Jackson, Madison, Morgan, Oglethorpe, Oconee, and Walton).  Services included a rape crisis hotline, short-term counseling, self-defense classes, community education, support groups, medical, legal, and court accompaniment.

 

During this time, efforts were made to reach the rural counties, but staff and money were limited.

 

In 1995, the Rape Crisis Center relocated to its current location behind the Athens Clarke County Police Department.  In addition, the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners  (SANE)  program was created and collaborated with the Rape Crisis Center to provide rape exams at the Rape Crisis Center.  This partnership created a friendlier, more comfortable environment, where survivors did not have to wait in a hospital emergency room for services.

 

In 1996, the Child Advocacy Program  (CAP)  was added to serve children.  Services were now expanded to reach all ages of sexual assault and abuse survivors.  The staff had now increased to four full-time employees.

 

In 1997, an employee solely dedicated to community education was added and the number of people being served by the Rape Crisis Center soared.  In addition, a satellite office in Jackson/Barrow was established to reach individuals in the Piedmont Judicial Circuit.

 

In 1998, the Rape Crisis Center changed its name to the Sexual Assault Center of Northeast Georgia, Inc.  (SAC)   in an effort to emcompass all survivors of sexual violence.  In addition, its service area changed slightly serving:  Clarke, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Madison, Greene, Barrow, Jackson, Hart, Frankin, and Elbert Counties.

 

In 1999, the Child Advocacy Program expanded its services to the Northern Judicial Circuit and together with the already established adult program in Elberton, began  to make sexual assault services more accessible in the rural counties.

 

In 2000, due to tremendous growth in number of services being provided, the Sexual Assault Center underwent a major organizational restructuring.  The Barrow/Jackson office was closed and three counties were eliminated from its service area:  Barrow, Jackson, and Greene.  It was a difficult choice for the Center, but it was a strategic effort to provide services more effectively and efficiently to seven counties than sporadically to ten counties.

 

The SAC was awarded Agency of the Year in July 2002 by the Athens Clarke County Department of Human and Economic Development for its response to sexual violence.  In 2003, the SAC was selected by Prevent Child Abuse Georgia as a lead agency for a grant supported by the CDC focusing on increasing adult responsibility for prevention of child sexual abuse, particularly in juvenile populations. 

 

Currently, the SAC employs 9 full-time and 2 part-time employees and utilizes over 50 volunteers.  The Executive Director who receives oversight by the Board of Directors supervises all activities.  The SAC is divided into two primary branches, which include Support Services and Education/Prevention.  The Support Services division offers free, confidential assistance to any individual affected by sexual violence including a 24 hour crisis line, crisis intervention, individual counseling, support groups, forensic interviews, medical/legal advocacy, medical and legal accompaniment, and referral/follow-up.  The Education/Prevention division provides both community outreach and curriculum-based education/prevention programming for sexual violence.  Between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2003, 440 survivors  (264 children)  received direct services and 8,861 individuals received educational and prevention programming related to child sexual abuse.