The YWCA Rape Crisis Center helps residents of Silicon Valley to minimize the traumatic aftermath of sexual assault by providing a 24-hour, seven days-a-week crisis hotline, immediate crisis counseling and assistance, information and referrals, and accompaniment services to medical, police, and court facilities. Our services are provided at no cost for all survivors of sexual assault or abuse, as well as their loved ones.

Our programs and services are offered throughout Santa Clara County including three office locations; downtown San Jose, Mountain View and on-campus at Stanford University. The YWCA of Silicon Valley Rape Crisis Center has been in operation since 1973. This past year we answered over 1,000 calls to the hotline, responded to the hospital approximately 250 times and provided in-person counseling to over 200 clients all at no cost to victims impacted by sexual assault. We also educate over 15,000 school-age children annually with age-appropriate sexual assault awareness and prevention programs throughout Silicon Valley.

Contact the 24-hour Rape Crisis Hotline at (408) 287-3000 or (650) 493-7273, or at Stanford University (650) 725-9955.

Santa Clara County law enforcement agencies record an average of 500 to 600 sexual assault cases each year. Many more cases are not reported to police. Typically, victims do not know what resources are available to them to help them in recovery. Additionally, our community has limited awareness concerning the possible protection strategies in avoiding an assault situation. The YWCA of Silicon Valley provides prevention programs as a forum for positive change through community education.

"Rape is a significant social and health problem in the United States. Results from the National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAWS) revealed that 17.7 million women and 2.8 million men in the United States were forcibly raped at some time in their lives, with 302,091 women and 92,748 men forcibly raped in the year preceding the survey."
From: "Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Rape Victimization: Findings From the National Violence Against Women Survey" Click here for the report.