Gail Abarbanel

Gail Abarbanel is the internationally acclaimed Founder and Director of the Rape Treatment Center (RTC), which is part of the Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center.

The RTC has served as a national model for the care and treatment of rape victims since 1974. It has provided expert care for over 35,000 sexual assault victims. Related initiatives include Stuart House, which was established in 1988 and has become a model program serving sexually abused children, and the the Verna Harrah Clinic, established in 1999, which provides 24-hour, state-of-the-art medical care and forensic exams to rape victims.

In addition to providing direct services to rape victims, Gail has improved the treatment of rape victims nationwide by educating police, prosecutors, judges, and medical personnel and publishing articles on rape treatment, and producing films on the subject. She also initiated  landmark legislation to remove discriminatory victim resistance requirements from California rape laws.

Selected Awards:
Resolution, H.R. 716
U.S. House of Representatives, 2010