Underground Railroad, Inc. recognizes that abuse is damaging to individuals and to society as a whole. The philosophy of the corporation is that abuse is rooted in a social structure that produces significant inequities in roles, relationships, resources, and power between women, men, and children. Abuse is criminal conduct, which cannot be tolerated. Prevention through education, advocacy and appropriate intervention is the ultimate goal. All victims should be provided safety and must be treated with dignity and respect.
Interventions that blame the victim and do not hold the abuser accountable for the violence are ineffective and inappropriate. The Underground Railroad shall encourage and advance the empowerment of victims and seek social change, which addresses the existing imbalance of power within violent relationships.
We believe that to make informed choices for themselves and their children, victims should have access to safety, information about abuse, available options, and community resources. To carry out their decisions, victims of abuse may require support and advocacy that respects their right to self-determination.
To this end the Underground Railroad will provide leadership in our community on issues affecting survivors and be accountable to survivors.