Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape has to get people talking about things they'd rather ignore.

By Margaret Battistelli Gardner

Back in the 1980s, Junior League organizations began to take on the issue of domestic violence and offer their name and resources to create awareness of this issue and concurrently committed valuable funding and volunteer support to improve shelter conditions. The end result was one of legitimatization, giving the issue of domestic violence much-needed visibility and credibility, which in turn made domestic violence a “trendy” issue worthy of support. This ultimately led to significant corporate and community support, which is sustained today.