The Houston region has been the beneficiary of a forward-thinking, nationally recognized organization with the capacity to develop and deliver direct services to survivors of violence while also providing thought leadership on life-saving policy interventions.

Founded in the ferment of the feminist movement of the 1970s, the Houston Area Women’s Center is in its fifth decade of a passionate drive to devise true solutions to domestic and sexual violence. Since its inception, HAWC has made the case that strategically addressing domestic and sexual violence merits public engagement and financial investment. Thankfully, today, there is widespread acknowledgment that what was once considered tangential concerns of a small group of outspoken women are of paramount importance to the region’s safety and quality of life.

For decades, HAWC has been meeting the moment, advancing healthy relationships, fostering caring families, ensuring accountability for predators, and designing systems that account for the lasting impact of trauma. By centering and learning from the experiences of survivors, HAWC has built a pioneering multi-ethnic, multi-lingual social service organization, on the cutting edge of clarifying the interconnections between gender-based violence and racial discrimination. The organization leads efforts to improve systems of support for survivors and ensure accountability for perpetrators.