New York Women Against Rape

A rape crisis center, NYWAR was formed in 1973 by N.Y. women who had belonged to the Women's Anti-Rape Group, started in 1971, which prepared a handbook on rape and held "rape speakouts" but did not counsel victims. NYWAR offered rape victims psychological support, medical and legal information, and referrals, and also worked for more just and humane treatment for sexually assaulted women.

New York Women Against Rape (NYWAR) was formed as a rape crisis center by a group of New York women who had belonged to the Women's Anti-Rape Group (WARG). WARG had grown out of an open meeting held at the Women's Liberation Center on October 9, 1971; while it began researching and writing a rape handbook and held a series of "rape speakouts," WARG did not counsel rape victims.

On February 22, 1973, as a result of disagreements among its members over the focus of the group's work, Marion Sawyer and four other members left WARG and formed NYWAR. As Marion Sawyer has written, "NYWAR was feminist in its counseling theory (All women are rape victims . . .) and in its organizational style (leaderless, minimally structured); it centered on direct help to rape victims by way of psychological support, medical-legal information and referrals, while pursuing many other aspects of rape as opportunities and membership permitted." It also "quickly became a force in bringing about more just and humane treatment for sexually assaulted women in New York City."

NYWAR was dissolved in 1990, due to bitter divisions among staff and board members and the lack of adequate funding.