RAINN an American Nonprofit Anti-sexual Assault Organization.

On By lafko329t4wojgwl02

RAINN founder Scott Berkowitz started the nonprofit in 1994, after his sister was raped and became pregnant as a result. As founder and president of RAINN, he has led the organization to grow into the nation’s largest anti-sexual assault organization.

The acronym stands for Rape Abuse & Incest National Network.

RAINN operates a 24-hour hotline that provides members of the general public with free help online or by phone. RAINN also carries out advocacy activities, operates the DoD Safe Helpline for the Department of Defense, and runs awareness campaigns to prevent sexual assault among college students and military personnel. It offers services in Spanish at 1-888-990-8585 (then press 2) . The national headquarters are in Washington, D.C.

RAINN has 160 field offices around the country and special services for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as members of the military. There are also special programs for military personnel and college students, including the Military Sexual Trauma (MST) program.

The organization partners with a variety of local rape crisis centers across the nation to offer training workshops on how to respond to sexual assault and promote awareness among law enforcement agencies and colleges nationwide. Its advocacy efforts include working with state legislatures to create new laws that support victims of sexual assault and working with Congress to pass more comprehensive laws protecting rape victims nationwide.

RAINN has received numerous awards, including the Anti-defamation League national Humanitarian Award in 2006, and the National Organization on Disability award for being “a leader and innovator in protecting women with disabilities.” In 2011, RAINN made international news when it issued a statement in response to the controversial “Jessica’s Law” bill that would have expanded sex offender registration on college campuses. The organization called the bill “unnecessary and patronizing” because it “would not protect college students from sexual assault but rather only further stigmatize them.” This statement caused RAINN to be criticized by politicians including Utah State Senator Orrin Hatch.

READ NEWS: https://news.gatech.edu/news/2022/04/13/voice-team-expands-call-services-rainn