Houston Area Women’s Center Videos, 1980-1999

Historical Note

The Houston Area Women’s Center (HAWC) emerged from the Women’s Information and Referral Exchange Service (WIRES) in 1977. The Referral Exchange eventually became a service within HAWC, providing resources to battered women in metropolitan Houston, Texas. The purpose of the Women’s Center is to “provide shelter and support services to survivors of sexual assault and family violence…[to] educate and inform the community in order to prevent and eliminate the causes of this violence…[To] empower women to advance their roles, their rights and their well-being.” In 1996, HAWC programs fell into three primary areas, Family Violence, Rape Crisis, and Community Education.

Initially, HAWC consisted entirely of volunteers led by former City of Houston Women’s Advocate Nikki Van Hightower. As the organization grew, it gained a one-room office in the University of Texas School of Public Health and Nikki Van Hightower became the first Executive Director of HAWC. Along with this growth, services provided by HAWC expanded, including an eleven-bed shelter for battered women and their children. By 1980, HAWC offered support to victims of sexual assault through the Rape Crisis Program (formerly the Houston Rape Crisis Coalition) and purchased a permanent shelter facility with nineteen beds.

Throughout the 1980s, HAWC branched out to provide services to areas surround Houston, continued to develop support programs, and lobbied for changes in state laws and community law enforcement procedures. The Women’s Club of Houston donated a facility in 1982, which, after remodeling, accommodated forty-five women and children. During the same year, HAWC opened a domestic violence program in Montgomery County; satellite programs in other parts of Harris County, and Fort Bend County, followed shortly thereafter. The Texas Legislature passed updated sexual assault laws and the Houston Police Department announced a policy calling for arrests in cases of domestic violence during 1983 resulting, in part, from lobbying by HAWC.

The 1990s brought further expansion by HAWC in greater Houston and Texas. The organization again moved to accommodate growing staff and services. Programs expanded to provide benefits from established programs to different sectors within the community. Hispanic Outreach, Asian Outreach, and African-American Outreach programs began between 1992 and 1994. Lobbying activity also increased during the 1990s as HAWC aided in the passage of numerous pieces of legislation, including stalking laws, the National Violence Against Women Act within the Crime Bill, and evidence laws pertaining to marital rapes. During this time, HAWC also assisted with the creation of the Domestic Violence Unit within the Houston Police Department, as well as establishing a Task Force for Children within the Texas Council on Domestic Violence.

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Scope and Contents

The Houston Area Women’s Center Videos contain the usual VHS tapes, Umatics, Beta tapes, and audio tapes. Items date from 1980 to 1999 with most of the material dating in the mid 1990s. The bulk of the collection chronicles the TV shows, news clips and events. The collection contains recordings of various TV shows, events and a whole lot of TV news clips revolving around HAWC. The videos form a bulk of the collection and hence have been processed separately.

Researchers may also wish to consult other collections held as part of the Women's Archives, including the Nikki Van Hightower Papers, covering the years 1967-1997, the Houston Area Women’s Council Records, including the years 1975-1990, and the HAWC Council for Abused Women/Family Violence Program Records, spanning 1978-1984. Complete runs of the Centerline (call number HQ 1439.H68 C46) and Catalyst (call number HQ 1439.H68 C375), are cataloged and available in Special Collections. Also part of the Women's Archives, and of possible interest to the researcher, is the National Women’s Conference Collection.

The tapes have been stored in video boxes and have been sorted topically and then chronologically.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Open for research.

Use Restrictions

Special Collections owns the physical items in our collections, but copyright normally belongs to the creator of the materials or their heirs. The researcher has full responsibility for determining copyright status, locating copyright holders, and abiding by current copyright laws when publishing or displaying copies of Special Collections material in print or electronic form. For more information, consult the appropriate librarian.

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Related Material

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Houston Area Women’s Center Photographs, Courtesy of Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries.

Acquisition Information

Donated by Houston Area Women’s Center, 1997

Processed by

Pavan Sirsi, November 2003

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Detailed Description

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