Transforming Consciousness to Change Systems: Deploying Critical Systems Thinking to Enhance Rape Crisis Centre Training

Rape Crisis Centres (RCCs) first emerged in the 1970s, born of US grassroots feminist activism but swiftly blossoming into a global anti-rape movement. Early RCCs in England and Wales were typically run along collective, non-hierarchical lines and staffed by volunteers rather than professionals, embodying the egalitarian values and radicalism of their founders. Despite widespread professionalisation through the 1990s and beyond, training for incoming volunteers continues to form part of the ‘living dynamic’ of RCCs, embodying elements of feminist consciousness-raising and impetus towards collective action. However, the wider literature and the author’s lived experience indicate that RCC training varies considerably in content, duration and delivery between centres. Similarly, there may be a misalignment between RCC training and the needs and experiences of incoming volunteers experiencing intersecting forms of marginalisation and disadvantage, with knock-on effects for service delivery and advocacy. Reflecting on a small-scale study undertaken with nine RCC workers from two English centres, this chapter reflects on the parallels between critical systems thinking frameworks and feminist epistemic techniques, exploring how Critical Systems Heuristics (CSH) could be utilised by RCC training developers in order to be more responsive to local needs and contexts.