• Sexual assault is wrong. Sexual assault is a crisis in our society ranging from passive denial of its existence to outright active physical aggression. Anyone, including women, children and men, can be victimized.
• Sexual violations are acts of power, aggression and violence and are intended to degrade, humiliate, and control another person who is perceived to be vulnerable. It is not a sexually motivated act.
• There is a connection between an individual's life experiences and a broader social context in which these life experiences occur. Pervasive social attitudes contribute to the constant association of violence and sexuality by the reinforcement of perceptions of women, children, and men as sexual objects and the imbalances of power between individuals based on stereotypes.
• The Albuquerque Rape Crisis Center serves to operate as a catalyst for changing these social attitudes by providing community education and victim services.
• The effectiveness of our agency will be enhanced by respecting the agency's philosophy and mission statement and our individual limits.

The Albuquerque Rape Crisis Center's strategies to address these conditions include placing value and importance on the following philosophical assumptions that are a part of this agency:

• Respect and acceptance with the agency to facilitate personal growth and responsibility by integration of traumatic life experiences in an environment of support, validation and acceptance.
• Long term social changes regarding sexual assault, by providing services and support to our community and society by facilitating changes of attitudes through education and increased public awareness.
• Development of alliances between the Albuquerque Rape Crisis Center and other community resources that serve individuals affected by sexual assault and abuse.
• Recognition and validation of experiences through respect for diversity of gender, culture, economic resources, physical and mental abilities, religious values and sexual orientation.
• Support of diversity in agency staff, aim of treatment and out reach.
• Support and integration of relevant community and staff resources in a proactive, team approach.