It has been a busy year at RAINN: The National Sexual Assault Hotline helped a record number of people. We helped pass new laws that will prevent rapists from claiming child custody and bring sexual violence education into thousands of schools. We helped educate tens of millions of Americans, and established new partnerships with dozens of TV networks, companies and organizations. To help accomplish all this, our staff grew by more than 50 people, and we opened a second call center in Washington, DC.

Here are a few of the ways RAINN has made a difference this year:

RAINN is helping more people than ever before–now, in two languages.
The National Sexual Assault Hotline has already served more than 150,000 people this year, and we expect that to reach close to 158,000 by year’s end. We have been able to do so thanks to more than 100 RAINN hotline staff and more than 300 hotline volunteers, plus thousands of staff and volunteers at the more than 1,000 local organizations we partner with.

This spring, the hotline expanded to include services in Spanish, and just this week we launched the Helproom, an online peer-support service for Spanish-speaking survivors.

RAINN is educating the public, on-campus and on-screen.
Through outreach to college students with RAINN Day events and this year’s #TalkToRAINN campaign, RAINN has been putting hotline information into the hands of young adults so that even more people are able to get help.

RAINN has played a critical role in the media this year by partnering with the nation’s largest TV networks as well as shows and documentaries such as Cold Justice: Sex Crimes, Scandal and The Hunting Ground. Most recently, we partnered with ABC on an episode last month of How to Get Away with Murder, which was followed by a PSA starring the show’s Matt McGorry.

RAINN is making lasting change for survivors by improving legislation.
This year, we helped Congress pass a bill that will deny rapists the right to claim custody of the children born as a result of their crime, while just last week Congress passed Erin's Law, which requires education and training for parents, guardians, teachers, and children about how to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse.

RAINN also worked with Congress to support legislation to reduce sexual assault on college campuses with the Campus Accountability and Safety Act, and successfully lobbied to increase funding to eliminate the rape kit backlog.

RAINN is changing the way companies and organizations address sexual assault.
In September, RAINN launched a program to improve how companies and organizations prevent sexual violence and handle victim response. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., was the first corporation to earn the new Best Practices Certification Program, and many more have lined up to have RAINN perform a certification audit in the coming year.

We couldn’t have done it alone.
The thousands of donors, corporate sponsors, and government partners that support RAINN day in and day out are critical to these programs. Without their continued support — and yours — none of this would be possible.

Double your impact. All donations in the month of December will be matched by a generous donor. Give the gift of hope today.

About RAINN
RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) is the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization and was named one of "America's 100 Best Charities" by Worth magazine. RAINN created and operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE and online.rainn.org) in partnership with more than 1,000 local sexual assault service providers and operates the DoD Safe Helpline for the Department of Defense. In 2015, the Online Hotline expanded to offer services in Spanish at rainn.org/es. The hotlines have helped more than two million people since 1994. RAINN also carries out programs to prevent sexual violence, help victims and ensure that rapists are brought to justice. For more information about RAINN, please visit rainn.org.