ABSTRACT
Thirty years ago, when police departments and rape crisis centers began to address the crime of rape, little was known about rape victims or sex offenders. The issue of rape was just beginning to be raised by feminist groups, and the 1971 New York Speak-Out on Rape had been held. Contemporary feminists who raised the issue early were Susan Griffin (1971) in her now-classic article on rape as the “all-American” crime, and Germaine Greer (1973) in her essay on grand rapes (legalistically defined) and petty rapes (everyday sexual rip-offs). Susan Brownmiller (1975) wrote the history of rape and urged people to deny its future. The general public was not particularly concerned about rape victims; very few academic publications or special services existed, and funding agencies did not see the topic as important.
