page_title: Women's Coalition of Milwaukee
section_title: Task Force on Battered Women
hierarchical_section_title: Women's Coalition of Milwaukee / Projects / Task Force on Battered Women
caption_attribution_description: English: WCBW
context_page_description: Women's Coalition of Milwaukee operated from 1972 to 1987 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and was founded by individual members of Milwaukee's local National Organization for Women chapter. The Women's Coalition proposed to "serve as an advocate for women; to interpret to the community at large the special concerns and problems of women." The first original bylaws of this feminist organization is "To form a coalition of feminist groups ... to combat sex discrimination ... to provide assistance to new feminist groups and create alternative institutions within the women's movement ... to educate women regarding their legal rights, vocational possibilities and personal health ... to serve as an advocate for women; to interpret to the community at large the special concerns and problems of women."
context_section_description: Initially started by Nova Clite and Virginia Ray, the information collected by the Women's Crisis Line indicated that there was a clear need for a place to help women that encountered violent abuse. Usually brought on by the victim's spouse, the Coalition felt as though there was not nearly enough awareness of this problem and that victims of domestic abuse did not have a safe place to go. The Women's Coalition of Milwaukee then started the Task Force on Battered Women in 1975 in order to provide counseling, shelter, advocacy, and other services for battered women and their children. The Coalition tried to focus on why this issue was so prevalent in the community and why women were primarily affected. They came to the conclusion that "woman battering was seen as a manifestation of the imbalance of power relations between the sexes, as an overt, physical expression of the subjection of women. Task Force members believed only an overall transformation of society in which men shed their dominant role and attitudes and women were accorded equal treatment and respect could ultimately redress this social problem. While feminists at the Coalition used educational and agitational methods to work toward the long-term goal of social change, they realized that immediate relief and social services were necessities for battered women in Milwaukee". The Task Force gained momentum in 1976 when donations were gathered to increase its budget to $13,000. This increase in budget lead to increased training for counseling workers and helped to create the first Wisconsin Conference on Battered Women that featured feminist writer Lisa Leghorn at the Milwaukee YWCA on October 2 and 3, 1976.
  Similar to the Women's Crisis Line, the Task Force on Battered Women also sought independence from the Women's Coalition of Milwaukee in November 1976 and moved location to West Fond du Lac Avenue. Official independence followed through for the Task Force on Battered Women in 1979 and relocated again to Mitchell Street. The organization continued to thrive after cutting ties from the Women's Coalition of Milwaukee and even influenced other organizations to form such as the Sojourner Truth House and other shelters for victims of family violence in the Milwaukee area.
caption: Guest speaker Lisa Leghorn at the Wisconsin Conference on Battered Women, 1976
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