RAINN Day

RAINN Day is an annual day for awareness and prevention of sexual violence held by the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN). It is a non-profit organization that is anti-sexual assault and reaches out to numerous colleges to spread awareness. On RAINN Day, students are asked to run events to become actively engaged in creating safe and respectful campus environments. This event is in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month (SAAPM) and falls on April 8th this year. RAINN Day is an opportunity for college students to demonstrate to their peers that they are an ally in the fight against sexual violence. It’s also an opportunity that isn’t limited to students - everyone can take part in RAINN day by spreading awareness of sexual violence and being an advocate to stop it. 

According to RAINN’s research, every 73 seconds, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted. Every 9 minutes, the victim is a child. Furthermore, only 5 out of 1,000 perpetrators will end up in prison. One out of every 6 women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime while about 3% of men have experienced an attempted or completed rape. And unfortunately, 13% of all students experience rape or sexual assault through physical force or violence. Among those, 9.7% are women and 2.5% are men. Sexual assault can happen to anyone no matter gender and age. 

Luckily, there are many things we can do to get involved during this Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. You can virtually show support for survivors, take action, and help raise awareness of sexual violence online and in your community. For SSAPM this year, the theme is “#ConsentRules”. By using this hashtag on your social media pages, you can share your thoughts on consent and why it’s important. The RAINN website offers many helpful graphics that you can circulate on social media to get the conversation started. Other hashtags to use this year are “#RAINNDay” and “#WontStayQuiet.” By organizing our posts with these hashtags, we can show that we believe, support, stand up for, celebrate, and advocate for sexual assault survivors.

Hotlines such as the National Sexual Assault Hotline are a great resource that has helped many individuals. Services include confidential support from a trained staff member, help with local resources that can assist with healing and recovery, referrals for long-term support in the area, and information about the laws in the community. If you or anyone you know is a survivor of sexual assault, visit their website for more information on what to do next. 

Reference

• Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network. (2020). Statistics. Retrieved from https://www.rainn.org/statistics