RAINN Press

Washington, D.C. (May 11, 2023) – RAINN released the following statement celebrating the Senate Judiciary Committee’s passage of the SHIELD Act and the Project Safe Childhood Act, days after survivors representing RAINN and ECPAT-USA held meetings on Capitol Hill: Ahead of yesterday’s markup and passage of landmark sexual exploitation and child sexual abuse legislation, the SHIELD Act and the Project Safe Childhood Act, RAINN partnered with ECPAT-USA to organize meetings of RAINN’s Speakers Bureau and…

Washington, D. C. (June 18, 2024) – RAINN, along with Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), and the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) held a press conference introducing the Take It Down Act. The Take it Down Act would establish a new criminal offense for the distribution of non-consensual AI-generated intimate images. The bill further supports survivors by requiring online platforms remove these harmful images within 48…

Washington, D.C.—Last night, the U.S. Senate voted to renew the Debbie Smith Act, a law that, to date, is responsible for aiding hundreds of thousands of investigations in America. The bill provides critical funding to public crime laboratories to efficiently and swiftly test DNA evidence, including rape kits. “The Debbie Smith Act has been the most effective anti-rape legislation that Congress has ever passed,” said Scott Berkowitz, RAINN’s founder and president. “It has helped law…

The U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) has recognized RAINN’s website for inclusion in its historical collections of web content. This recognition is part of NLM’s vital mission to collect, preserve, and make available materials that provide valuable information in medicine and public health while documenting their histories. NLM’s web archive collections play a crucial role in contributing to the historical record, capturing information that might otherwise be lost in the ever-changing digital landscape. As…

Washington, D.C. – RAINN released the following statement today after the January 2, 2023 and January 3, 20223 airing of Lifetime’s Surviving R. Kelly Part III: The Final Chapter, which featured RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline, 800.656.HOPE (4673) and hotline.RAINN.org. “Following the premiere of Surviving R. Kelly III: The Final Chapter, calls to RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline increased 46%. Many of the survivors who called had never told anyone what happened before speaking with…

Current New York statute requires that mental incapacitation result from a person being under the influence without their knowledge or consent New York, NY – Today RAINN, Miss New York USA Rachelle Di Stasio, Assemblyman Dinowitz, Assemblyman Hevesi, Former U.S. Congresswoman Maloney, and a coalition of other New York-based anti-sexual violence organizations called on New York lawmakers to close the state’s Volutary Incapacitation Loophole. “We must push lawmakers in New York to join 14 other…

Washington, D.C. – The Senate just passed a bill to prioritize the rescue of children who are sexually abused and exploited online. The Project Safe Childhood Act, led by Sens. John Cornyn, Amy Klobuchar, Chuck Grassley, Marsha Blackburn, Lindsey Graham, Richard Blumenthal, and Chris Murphy, will provide law enforcement and prosecutors with the necessary resources and tools to effectively investigate cases of online sexual exploitation and abuse of children. Child sexual abuse has been especially…

Washington, D. C. (April 28, 2025) — Today Congress gave survivors of tech-enabled sexual abuse a historic win with the landslide passage of the RAINN-backed Take It Down Act, fundamentally changing the way survivors experience the internet. Take It Down criminalizes the distribution of non-consensual AI-generated intimate images, commonly called “deepfakes,” and requires online platforms to remove these images within 48 hours of being reported. RAINN, the largest anti-sexual violence organization in the country, has…

Columbus, O.H. (April 25, 2024) – RAINN, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization released the following statement as H.B. 161 heads to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s desk. This bill eliminates the spousal exception rule and permits victims to testify against their spouse. It is necessary to prevent sexual violence and provide justice to survivors, regardless of marital status. Currently Ohio law makes it legal for someone to rape their spouse. “People should be legally protected…

Honolulu, H.I. (May 13, 2024) – RAINN, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization released the following statement as Hawaii SB 2439 heads to Governor Josh Green’s desk to be signed into law: SB 2439 opens up a window for survivors to choose to pursue justice. The bill extends the statute of limitations for two years for civil actions brought by adult survivors of sexual violence. This provides adult survivors of sexual offenses a chance at…

On April 1, coinciding with the first day of Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, RAINN applauded new guidance released today from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that advises teaching hospitals to obtain written informed consent from patients before they undergo sensitive examinations while under anesthesia, like a pelvic, breast, rectal, or prostate exam, for teaching purposes. “This letter from HHS is a critical leap forward in protecting patients and medical…

In response to the charges of racketeering, conspiracy, and sex trafficking against Sean “Diddy” Combs, RAINN released the following statement: “The scale of the allegations against Combs is truly stunning. I’m grateful to U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for pursuing this case so aggressively,” said Scott Berkowitz, RAINN founder and president. “Cases against the famous and powerful are watched very closely by survivors across the country. This indictment sends a clear message that every survivor deserves…