Gail Abarbanel ’66

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Founder and director of the Rape Treatment Center of Santa Monica Hospital Medical Center, Gail Abarbanel has created a model facility. The work of the Center goes far beyond providing free treatment, medical and legal services for victims of sexual assault. Through the efforts of Abarbanel, major state and federal laws have been reformed to benefit victims; thousands of police officers and prosecutors have received training about how to handle these cases; hundreds of thousands of teenagers in our high schools have been informed about sexual assault and prevention strategies.

In 1990, she launched a major campaign to help universities across the country develop effective new policies and programs to deal with rapes involving college students. She produced Campus Rape, an award-winning prevention film now used by the majority of colleges in the United States.

The National Institutes of Mental Health chose the Rape Treatment Center’s model for its training film on hospital-based rape treatment which is used nationwide. Her experiences with child victims who were being revictimized by the systems that were supposed to help them provided the inspiration for another extraordinary achievement. With seed money from the Stuart Foundations and a partnership with the District Attorney’s office and law enforcement agencies, Stuart House was created to provide comprehensive services for sexually abused children. Widely regarded as the finest of its kind in the country, this innovative, interagency facility is being emulated elsewhere. Gail Abarbanel has inspired and mobilized many leaders from the film, advertising and public relations industries to contribute their talent and expertise to alleviate sexual violence and inform the public of its devastating impact. For 20 years, she has raised the nation’s consciousness about rape and dramatically improved the way victims are treated. We honor her professional achievement and her compassion for humanity.