The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) is an American nonprofit anti-sexual assault organization, the largest in the United States. RAINN operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline, as well as the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

Safe Helpline, and carries out programs to prevent sexual assault, help survivors, and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice through victim services, public education, public policy, and consulting services. RAINN was founded in 1994 by Scott Berkowitz, with initial funding from The Atlantic Group and

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. (trade name, d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York C ...

.Jaeger, Barbara (July 3, 1994).
Who: What, Where, When
. ''The Record'' (Hackensack, New Jersey). Newspapers.com.

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

was the organization's first spokesperson.

Christina Ricci Christina Ricci ( ; born February 12, 1980) is an American actress. Known for playing unusual characters with a dark edge, Ricci predominantly works in independent productions, but has also appeared in numerous box office hits. She has receiv ...

has been the national spokesperson since April 25, 2007, and she is a member of its National Leadership Council.

History

RAINN was founded in 1994 by Scott Berkowitz. In 2006, its National Sexual Assault Hotline received its one-millionth caller. In 2014, RAINN attracted controversy for its criticism of the concept of

rape culture Rape culture is a setting, studied by several sociological theories, in which rape is pervasive and normalized due to societal attitudes about gender and sexuality. Behaviors commonly associated with rape culture include victim blaming, slut- ...

and its promotion of primarily criminal justice system solutions in its recommendations to the

White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault The White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault was formed on January 22, 2014, after President Barack Obama directed the Office of the Vice President of the United States and the White House Council on Women and Girls to " ...

. In response, Zerlina Maxwell created the hashtag "#RapeCultureIsWhen." Wagatwe Wanjuki,

Amanda Marcotte Amanda Marie Marcotte (born September 2, 1977) is an American blogger and journalist who writes on feminism and politics from a liberal perspective. Marcotte has written for several online publications, including ''Slate'', ''The Guardian'', a ...

Jessica Valenti Jessica Valenti (; born November 1, 1978) is an American feminist writer. She was the co-founder of the blog Feministing, which she wrote for from 2004 to 2011. Valenti is the author of five books: ''Full Frontal Feminism'' (2007), ''He's a Stud ...

, and others asserted that rape culture exists and denounced relying on the criminal justice system to prevent sexual violence on college campuses. In February 2022, RAINN supported the EARN IT Act, which removes blanket immunity for violations of laws related to online child sexual abuse material (CSAM). U.S. Senators

Richard Blumenthal Richard Blumenthal (; born February 13, 1946) is an American lawyer and politician who is the senior United States senator from Connecticut, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he is one of the wealthiest members of ...

and

Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin Graham (born July 9, 1955) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A member of the Republican Party, Graham chaired the Senate Committee ...

introduced bipartisan legislation to incentivize tech companies to remove child sexual abuse imagery on their platforms. Also in February, RAINN partnered with Congresswoman Deborah Ross and Congressman Dave Joyce on the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs) Act, which is designed to address the nation-wide shortage of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs) and improve care for survivors of sexual violence. It bill was also endorsed by the

American Nurses Association The American Nurses Association (ANA) is a 501(c)(6) professional organization to advance and protect the profession of nursing. It started in 1896 as the Nurses Associated Alumnae and was renamed the American Nurses Association in 1911. It is ...

and the National Network to End Domestic Violence. In April 2022, ''

Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German pub ...

'' published an article about RAINN's workplace culture in which 22 current and former staff members alleged racism and sexism. A rape survivor story by a higher-ranked Navy physician was chosen to be published on RAINN's web site, but later wasn't published due to Berkowitz not wanting to jeopardize RAINN's $2million contract with the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secur ...

. When ''

The Lily Lily, ''Lilium'', is a genus of flowering plants with large flowers. Lily may also refer to: * List of plants known as lily Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Lily'' (film), a 1926 American drama * ''Lily'' (1973 special), an ...

'' interviewed a woman for

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday list of minor secular observances#March, celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights, women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, ...

, she said she was tired of the homophobic lies about the LGBTQ community, which risk the murder of black trans women. The interview noted the woman was employed at RAINN. RAINN's vice president of communications said the interview was "too controversial" and might jeopardize RAINN's contract with the Department of Defense, and the employee was fired later that day. Six of RAINN's executives resigned soon after ''Insider'' published its investigation. RAINN supported the '' PROTECT Our Children Act of 2022'', which passed the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and ...

on November 15, 2022 as well as

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

on December 6, 2022. The act reauthorizes funding for the

Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC Task Force) is a task force started by the United States Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) in 1998. The ICAC program is a national network of 61 coordi ...

(ICAC) and provides support to investigate and arrest perpetrators of sex offenses against children. In December 2022, RAINN collaborated with HBO on an original documentary series titled ''Unveiled: Surviving La Luz Del Mundo'', which tells the story of child sexual abuse within the

La Luz del Mundo The Iglesia del Dios Vivo, Columna y Apoyo de la Verdad, La Luz del Mundo (; English: "Church of the Living God, Pillar and Ground of the Truth, The Light of the World")or simply La Luz del Mundo (LLDM)is a nontrinitarian Christian denominat ...

church.

National Sexual Assault Hotline

The National Sexual Assault Hotline is a 24-hour,

toll-free A toll-free telephone number or freephone number is a telephone number that is billed for all arriving calls. For the calling party, a call to a toll-free number from a landline is free of charge. A toll-free number is identified by a dialing prefi ...

phone service that routes callers to the nearest local sexual assault service provider. More than 1,000 local partnerships are associated with RAINN to provide sexual assault victims with free, confidential services. Since 2008, RAINN has provided anonymous, on-line crisis support through its National Sexual Assault Online Hotline via

instant messaging Instant messaging (IM) technology is a type of online chat allowing real-time text transmission over the Internet or another computer network. Messages are typically transmitted between two or more parties, when each user inputs text and trigge ...

. Professional wrestler and writer

Mick Foley Michael Francis Foley (born June 7, 1965) is an American actor, author, retired professional wrestler, and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE under the company's Legends program, acting as a company ambassador. Foley worked for ...

is a member of RAINN's national leadership council and has worked as a volunteer on its online hotline. He became involved with the charity through his friendship with Tori Amos, his favorite musician. During a 15-month period ending in April 2011, Foley logged more than 550 hours talking to victims online. The same month, he offered to mow anyone's lawn who donated up to a certain amount to the organization, saying, "If you want to help survivors of sexual assault, or just want to see a big guy with long hair mowing your lawn in front of your friends, please take part..." During the '' Depp v. Heard'' trial, RAINN noted an increase in hotline calls. RAINN says it provided help to 28% more people in May 2022 than in May 2021, and, on verdict day, it served 35% more people than on average.

RAINN Day

RAINN sponsors an annual campaign geared toward raising awareness and educating students about sexual violence, bystander intervention, and recovery resources on college campuses. Since 2018, RAINN Day is held every April to coincide with Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month (SAAPM).

Public Positions

RAINN has published press releases in support of multiple survivors facing media scrutiny, including

Christine Blasey Ford Christine Margaret Blasey Ford ( ; born November 1966) is an American professor of psychology at Palo Alto University and a research psychologist at the Stanford University School of Medicine. She specializes in designing statistical models ...

. RAINN's president, Scott Berkowitz, has also issued multiple public statements, including his belief that arguing against the

Keystone pipeline The Keystone Pipeline System is an oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States, commissioned in 2010 and owned by TC Energy and as of 31 March 2020 the Government of Alberta. It runs from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Alb ...

's expansion as a potential conduit of sexual violence is "unusual": When a former staff assistant in Joe Biden's U.S. Senate office alleged that Biden had sexually assaulted her in 1993, RAINN tweeted,

References

External links