Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network

RAINN is dedicated to providing best-in-class services for survivors of sexual violence, informing and educating the nation about these issues, and improving the public policy and criminal justice response to sexual violence. RAINN has a four-pronged approach to addressing the issue of sexual violence: helping survivors, educating the public, improving sexual assault laws and policies, and providing consulting and training services to companies and organizations.

SUPPORT SURVIVORS:
RAINN provides free, confidential, 24/7 advice, information, and support to survivors and loved ones affected by sexual violence through the National Sexual Assault Hotline and the Department of Defense Safe Helpline for members of the military community.

EDUCATE THE PUBLIC:
RAINN’s prevention and education efforts include working with the entertainment industry, the media, colleges, and local communities. Our messages educate more than 130 million Americans each year.

IMPROVE PUBLIC POLICY:
RAINN’s public policy team works to improve the criminal justice system to ensure that survivors of sexual violence get the justice they deserve. RAINN’s work has been honored by the bipartisan leadership of Congress, and RAINN is the organization that members of Congress turn to every day for input on sexual violence policy. RAINN’s policy priorities include expanding the use of DNA in unsolved rape kits, reducing the backlog of untested rape kits, broadening survivors’ rights to appropriate medical attention, protecting young athletes, and bringing perpetrators to justice.


CONSULTING ON EFFECTIVE SEXUAL ASSAULT EDUCATION AND RESPONSE PROGRAMS:
RAINN works with clients across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to develop targeted, effective sexual violence education and response programs. RAINN’s services prepare organizations to effectively provide education about sexual violence and to respond to incidents in a way that facilitates healing and promotes safe and healthy communities. RAINN offers a variety of specialized consulting services to meet each organization’s unique needs, including hotline services, consulting, program assessments, and education and training.

We operate the National Sexual Assault Hotline in both English and Spanish. RAINN also operates the Department of Defense Safe Helpline and hotlines for other federal and nonprofit partners. We work daily with national media and Hollywood partners to increase the public’s knowledge and understanding of sexual violence issues. That work combined with our websites and social media platforms educate more than 130 million people each year.

We work on public policy changes, including laws, regulations, and systemic reform initiatives, that make communities safer and support survivors.

We help organizations train and educate staff about preventing sexual assault and responding to incidents in a way that facilitates healing and promotes safe and healthy communities. To do this, we offer a variety of specialized consulting services to meet each organization’s unique needs, including hotline services, program assessments, and education and training.

As of 2022, RAINN’s victim services programs have served more than four million survivors and their loved ones. The phone and online hotlines help more than 800 people each day, up from less than 100 people a day when RAINN launched the National Sexual Assault Hotline in 1994

RAINN has partnered with many TV shows, networks and streaming platforms on storylines about sexual violence, including HBO's Unveiled: Surviving La Luz Del Mundo, Lifetime’s Surviving R. Kelly, Netflix's Luckiest Girl Alive, CBS’s NCIS, and more.

RAINN has promoted the National Sexual Assault Hotline nationally on television and radio through partnerships and award-winning public service announcements. Additionally, RAINN's experts provided information and interviews to the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, CNN, ABC, NBC, Politico, and more than 500 other media outlets. Members of RAINN's Speakers Bureau members were also featured in multiple national and local media publications and outlets.

RAINN led the fight to successfully reauthorize the Debbie Smith Act. The reauthorization allows Congress to allocate $151 million dollars annually to state and local crime labs for DNA and rape kit testing. RAINN experts held two congressional briefings, five briefings for the U.S. State Department and briefed 42 officials in 30 countries on issues related to sexual violence.

In FY20, RAINN established coordinated, grassroots advocacy campaigns on the ground in five states that focused on eliminating criminal states of limitations on sex crimes and expanding training for and access to sexual assault forensic nurse examiners.

RAINN also worked with organizations in higher education, secondary education, travel, ridesharing, finance, food and beverage, youth-serving, law, government, and entertainment sectors to review and strengthen their sexual assault prevention and response programs.

RAINN operated sexual assault and therapy fund hotlines for more than 30 federal agencies, universities, boarding schools, hospitals, and youth-serving organizations. We also continued to expand our National Leadership Council—a leadership group of individuals, corporate representation, and foundation liaisons who have been recognized based on their commitment to RAINN's mission—reflecting new and diverse voices.