Toby M. Myers, Deborah D. Tucker, and Maria Jose Angelelli Texas Council on Family Violence Records
Collection
Identifier: 1998-005
The Toby M. Myers, Deborah D. Tucker, and Maria Jose Angelelli Texas Council on Family Violence (TCFV) Records contain written records of the organization, as well as photographs and ephemera from the group. Items in the collection range in date from 1974 to 2001, with most of the material dating from the 1990s. The bulk of the collection details the various activities of the group since its inception in 1978, including conferences attended or organized, political and legislative activity, and various shelters throughout the state.
The collection is arranged into nine series: Administrative Materials, International Development Project, Programs, Workshops/Conferences, Political/Legislative/Legal Materials, Publications, Clippings, Photographs and Ephemera. The original arrangement and subject headings have been retained as much as possible, although some reorganization was necessary to facilitate research. Basic preservation procedures, including removing staples, tape, and paperclips, were applied to the collection, which was generally in very good physical condition. Each series description includes a description of its organization, either chronological or alphabetical. Oversize items are listed within their appropriate series.
Open for research.
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25.5 Linear Feet
Formed in 1978, the Texas Council on Family Violence (TCFV) was the first statewide organization to explicity address the issue of domestic violence. According to their 1995 by-laws, the group was organized for charitable purposes as a non-profit membership organization for autonomous, community-based battered women's shelters, related organizations, and concerned others. The TCFV's purpose is to assist and empower battered women and their children and to eliminate violence against women, largely by advancing the shelter movement in Texas. According to the TCFV, Texas women's shelters originated in 1875, when Martha McWhirter opened a shelter in Belton. It was over 100 years later, in 1977 that another shelter opened in Austin, emerging out of the growing awareness of women's issues generated by the National Women's Conference held in Houston that year. A shelter in Houston soon followed.
With only six member shelters at the time of formation, the TCFV focused on obtaining state support and funding for programs. By 1994 the organization had expanded and more shelters had been opened, swelling the membership rolls to sixty shelters. In addition, the TCFV has been effective in generating financial support at the state level for shelters. Having allotted $200,000 in 1979, the state granted $9.1 million in 1994 to the shelter program. Lobbying for protective legislation has also been an important part of the TCFV's mission. The organization played a role in passing legislation that grants protective orders for women, allows officers to arrest an assault suspect without a warrant, increases penalties for violent sexual crimes against children, requires training for law enforcement officers in domestic violence issues, and defines and punishes stalking. In addition, the TCFV initiated and helped to develop the National Domestic Violence Hotline, which opened in 1996. With the backing of President Clinton, a national toll-free number was established to assist and counsel victims of domestic violence and to educate the general public. Mindful of reaching out to minority groups, the TCFV has also established an African-American Task Force, a Latina Task Force, and a Lesbian Task Force.
Donations 1998-2002 by Deborah D. Tucker and Toby Myers, 2016 by Maria Jose Angelelli.
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