She was a visionary person, and she was willing to do the hard work behind it to create that vision,” said Diane Beynon, coordinator of the sexual assault team at BAWAR.
Brave
Bay Area
BRAVE Bay Area will close permanently on September 30th. For immediate support as a survivor of sexual violence, please contact Alameda Health Systems’ Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence Program (SARRT) located at Highland Hospital in Oakland.
510-534-9290, https://www.alamedahealthsystem.org/sarrt/
Honoring our Legacy
Honoring our Legacy
Oleta Abrams,
co-founder of BRAVE Bay Area
Oleta Kirk Abrams, who co-founded the nation’s first rape crisis center after her foster daughter was sexually attacked in a Berkeley High stairwell, died Jan. 8 from medical complications during a lung biopsy at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center. She was 77.
A lifelong activist, Ms. Abrams and two friends created Bay Area Women Against Rape in 1971 after Ms. Abrams’ 15-year-old foster daughter was raped and then mistreated by police officers and doctors.
More than three decades later, the Oakland-based nonprofit agency receives more than 1,000 emergency calls a year and has become an international model, most recently replicated in Croatia and Japan.
Ms. Abrams, known by many as “Lee,” created the first 24-hour hot line for victims, and became the first person to accompany rape survivors to court when they testified against their attackers. She was the first victim-witness advocate for the Alameda County district attorney’s office — a position that has been copied nationwide.
Bill Danenhower, who met Ms. Abrams while working as an investigator with the Oakland Police Department’s sexual assault unit, described Ms. Abrams in a recent e-mail as his unit’s “right arm, our mother confessor and adviser.”
She made the district attorney’s office, the hospitals and the police investigators “more aware of the need for special considerations in dealing with special victims,” he said.
Bay Area Women Against Rape, known as BAWAR, now runs several counseling programs and sends rape survivors to prisons to talk to rapists about the long- lasting impact of their crimes.
“A lot of us have vision — it’s the follow-through we lack.”
Ms. Abrams turned into a pioneer after her foster daughter was attacked at Berkeley High by someone who came in off Martin Luther King Jr. Way.
A janitor interrupted the rape but thought it involved two youngsters “fooling around,” and he didn’t report the crime, said Ms. Abrams’ biological daughter, Rebecca Abrams of Hayward.
Police officers who eventually responded didn’t allow the girl to phone Ms. Abrams and kept her separated from her family at the station, according to published accounts of the attack. The girl had to wait an hour at the hospital for a doctor, who made jokes in the examination room and never checked her for pregnancy or venereal disease.
“It’s horrendous enough to be raped, but to then be treated as if you are guilty or you asked for it, that just outraged my mother,” Rebecca Abrams said.
Marcia Blackstock, former Executive Director and co-founder
Marcia Blackstock was the longtime Executive Director of Bay Area Women Against Rape (BAWAR), the first rape crisis center in the United States. For 35 years, she provided unyielding support to survivors while transforming how the criminal justice system responds to sexual assault. Marcia championed expanded funding for rape crisis services statewide, helped change laws to strengthen protections for survivors, and inspired thousands of volunteers to serve as Rape Crisis Advocates. Under her leadership, BAWAR supported hundreds of thousands of survivors with counseling, advocacy, and education. Following her passing on January 14, 2022, Marcia is remembered as a visionary leader whose impact continues to shape the movement against sexual violence.
BRAVE extends our sincere and heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Marcia Blackstock who transitioned on January 14th, 2022. We want to thank Marcia’s daughter, Dawn, for kindly sharing information about the planned services to remember Marcia’s life and legacy next month.
Marcia joined BAWAR as a volunteer advocate in 1978, later joining staff and eventually serving as Executive Director for 30+ years before retiring in 2017.
With Deepest Gratitude
We extend our heartfelt appreciation to our dedicated staff, volunteers, board members, funders, and community partners who have made our work possible. Above all, we honor the courage and resilience of the survivors who have trusted us with their stories and healing journeys.
The ripples of our collective work will continue long after our doors close, and we are profoundly grateful to have been part of this important movement for survivor justice and healing.
