Women Against Rape (WAR) was founded in Milwaukee by Patty Dow and Virginia Link in
or around 1979. WAR was a local feminist organization that worked to change how
local communities, schools, and legal institutions viewed and treated adults and
children who were victims of sexual abuse, assault, and rape. WAR's guiding
philosophies were direct action and consciousness-raising, which were typical
strategies for feminist organizations in the 1970s.
In 1979, Link organized WAR after reading a news story about a woman who was raped
while out jogging. Detectives from the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) vice squad,
who investigated rape cases, responded to the incident with a statement that women
should not be running alone.
Link gathered a group to protest victim-blaming; their slogan was: "Cut it out or we
will cut it off." WAR argued that rape should not be associated with vice because it
is a violent act alike physical assault. They recommended that the MPD perform
outreach to rape victims in order to increase the numer of reported and prosecuted
rape cases. WAR gathered over 9,000 signatures demanding an anti-rape unit in the
MPD, leading to the successful establishment of such a unit.
WAR conducted court watches in the Milwaukee family court system after women spoke to
the organization about their experiences with their children in family court. WAR
found that there was a level of tolerance of sexual violence within the family. For
example, in custody cases, if there was evidence that the father sexually abused his
child, he would still be granted custody of the child. In 1981, WAR met with
attorneys and representatives from Child Protective Services to gather more
information on how cases of child sexual abuse and assault were handled in the
Milwaukee family court system. The next year, WAR trained Family Court professionals
and other medical and mental health personnel on how to better serve mothers and
children in Family Court.
WAR served on MPS's sex education board, called the Human Growth and Development Task
Force, to develop MPS's sex education curriculum. WAR designed a prevention model
that involved parental and teacher involvement, as well as abuse and assault
prevention curriculum. WAR also offered rape and assault prevention and rapist
identification workshops to women, encouraged women to join WAR and get involved in
protests and rallies, and organized female neighborhood patrols to thwart rapists.
In 1983, WAR applied for a grant from the City of Milwaukee to continue its mission,
but was denied funding. Due to the lack of funds, WAR disbanded in 1984.
