50 Year Timeline — Respect Together

1970s

1975 – The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR) is formed
1975-1978 – PCAR is overseen by Board of Directors
1976 – PCAR works to secure passage of recodification of sexual assault statutes, the first change in the Pennsylvania rape laws since 1939. The legislation includes monumental amendments.
1978-1979 – Sandra Lambert is Executive Director
1978 – PCAR receives financial aid from the Governor’s Justice Commission (now Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency). A three-year grant provides funds for the operation of a state office to advocate on behalf of local sexual assault centers.
1978 – PCAR develops protocol for examination of rape victims in emergency rooms, which becomes national standard.
Governor Milton Shapp signs H. B. 580 into law changing Pennsylvania’s rape statutes for the first time since 1939

1980s

1979-1981 – Kathryn Power is Executive Director
1980 – The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW) adds to its budget funding for rape crisis centers. 19 centers serving 22 counties receive these funds.
1981 – PCAR develops a code of professional responsibility; sets standard for rape crisis counselors in the United States.
1981 – Governor Richard Thornburgh signs SB 532 Absolute Confidentiality Law; the first in the nation.
1981-1984 – Karen Paris is Executive Director
1985 – Terry Roth becomes Executive Director
1985 – PCAR celebrates its 10th anniversary.
1985 – Confidentiality law is upheld as constitutional by Pennsylvania Superior Court.
1986-January 1994 – Sue Cameron is Executive Director

1990s

1994 – Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) passes as part of new federal crime bill which provides funds allocated for rape crisis and domestic violence services.
1994 – Sexual assault services are available in every county of PA.
1995 – Delilah Rumburg joins PCAR as new Executive Director, and PCAR celebrates 20th Anniversary.
1997 – Governor Ridge helps launch the statewide Public Awareness campaign to educate about sexual violence and to create awareness of PCAR and its many resources.
1998 – PCAR is involved in the redrafting of legislation for 1999 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA II).
1999 – PCAR receives grant from the Centers for Disease Control for the establishment of the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC).

2000s

2000 – NSVRC office opens on July 1.
2000 – PCAR is involved in drafting the 2000 VAWA reauthorization.
2001 – NSVRC declares April to be Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) and develops the first nationally coordinated campaign
2002 – PCAR releases statewide SART guidelines.
2005 – PCAR celebrates 30th anniversary as the oldest state anti-sexual violence coalition in the country.
2005 – PCAR participated in drafting the 2005 VAWA reauthorization.
2005 – PCAR executive director, Delilah Rumburg serves as the civilian co-chair to the Department of Defense Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies. The Task Force releases its official report in August.
2005 – Vision of Hope Fund is established to safeguard our nation’s children from the devastation of sexual abuse. Former Pennsylvania First Lady Michele M. Ridge is named honorary chair.
2009 – PCAR receives funding from OVW to administer the Aequitas prosecutor training and TA project in Washington, DC.

The opening of the National Sexual Violence Resource

2010s

2010 – NSVRC celebrates its 10th anniversary
2011 – Top officials from Penn State University reach out to PCAR to discuss a possible partnership between the entities. The goal of the partnership is to assist Penn State in enhancing the University system’s ability to recognize and respond to sexual violence in the aftermath of the Sandusky scandal. By the end of December, Penn State pledges a $1.5 million grant to PCAR/NSVRC to support this work.
2011 – The NSVRC partners with the FrameWorks Institute to research how the American public thinks about sexual violence.
2011 – The SAAM theme focuses on bystander intervention, with ads displayed in Times Square.
2015 – The NSVRC celebrates its 15th anniversary and PCAR celebrates its 40th Anniversary
2015 – PA’s Sexual Violence Protection Order goes into effect
2016 – NSVRC, the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence (NAESV), and The California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA’s) PreventConnect, launch the new NFL-sponsored partnership RALIANCE, with a presence in Washington D.C. and a bold goal of Ending Sexual Violence in One Generation
2018 – Delilah Rumburg, CEO, retires after 23 years leading PCAR through a period of remarkable growth and influence. Karen Baker, former NSVRC director, is named new CEO. Yolanda Edrington is named NSVRC Director.
2018-2023 – Karen Baker is CEO.
During this decade, PCAR and NSVRC provide education for media at the Jerry Sandusky trial in State College, PA, at the Steubenville, OH rape trial, and at the Bill Cosby trial in Norristown.

NFL Commissioner Rodger Goodell visits the offices

NSVRC in Times Square — Photo by Brad Bailey.
The National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) PSA is shown in NewYork’s Times Square on Sunday, April 10, 2011. The 15 second segmen airs hourly though June 30, 2011. The PSA was launched in conjunction with Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) and emphasizes “It’s time … to prevent sexual violence.”

PCAR’s Kristen Houser conducts media interviews

2020s

2020 – PCAR receives accreditation from the PA Association of Nonprofit Organizations (PANO).
2020 – NSVRC podcast, Resource on the Go, and PCAR podcast, PA Centered, debut on all major podcast platforms.
2021 – PCAR celebrates 13 bi-partisan legislative accomplishments to support sexual assault victims. Leaders from PCAR held a press conference on January 13, 2021, to highlight pieces of legislation that will have a positive effect for victims of sexual violence and the prevention future abuse.
2023 – The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape rebrands as the Pennsylvania Coalition to Advance Respect. PCAR and the NSVRC rebrand under one name: Respect Together. – Respect Together announces Yolanda Edrington as the new CEO.
2023 – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awards the NSVRC a $500,000 award through the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, intended to improve trauma-informed, developmentally sensitive, and culturally relevant services for survivors of dating violence, domestic violence, and sexual assault.
2024 – Jennifer Grove, former NSVRC Prevention Director, becomes the new Chief Operating Officer of Respect Together’s national division.
2024 – PCAR’s Sexual Violence Legal Assistance Project reached 1000 survivors of sexual abuse, assault and harassment served.
2024 – Jennifer Grove is invited by President and Dr. Jill Biden to represent Respect Together at the White House event to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Grove joined several national leaders on the steps of the White House while the President gave his remarks.