Editorial : Name change from ‘RAPE’ to ‘Advocacy’ Center marks improvement but lacks specificity

Administrators at the R.A.P.E. Center decided this summer to change its name to the Advocacy Center. The change comes after two years of deliberating the appropriateness of the title ‘R.A.P.E,’ which stood for Rape: Advocacy, Prevention and Education.

The center made a huge improvement removing the word ‘rape’ from its title. But in attempting to break away from the crassness of the old acronym, the decision makers have made the work of the center — ‘advocacy’ — too vague for students in need.

For all its insensitivity, the old name was at least clear for those to whom the center matters most: victims of abuse. Although the term ‘advocacy’ has the potential to draw those who would have felt — or wished to believe — their case of abuse did not constitute something as serious as the center’s old title implied.

The center does much more than serve as a place for abuse victims to find advice about what to do next; it also organizes awareness projects and coordinates with men on campus to speak out against violence. To be short, it advocates against abuse and for the abused. But the term ‘advocacy’ is too common in popular political rhetoric and loaded with connotations to carry the kind of empathetic message the center needs to attract student victims. Simple terms like ‘safe,’ ‘secure,’ ‘help’ or ‘support’ may seem obvious, but that’s exactly what made the term ‘rape’ so effective at making the center’s purpose recognizable.

One benefit from the relatively neutral new name could be its ability to draw those on the periphery of acts of abuse to seek advice. The roommates or friends of victims and abusers may find ‘advocacy’ more inviting and appropriate.

Ultimately, the best way for the Advocacy Center to move forward with its name change is to jump start a marketing and promotions campaign that will make its services exhaustingly clear, semester after semester.