Charity Spotlight - RAINN

RAINN - Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network is the second organization I want to share. As the name tells, they represent and assist those dealing with sexual assault of multiple varieties. They have been around for 27 years and have helped 3.7 million survivors in that time. I chose them for Fish because I felt they covered a broad spectrum of victims and survivors with their services.

Fish focuses on a teenager but people of all ages experience sexual assault of some kind. According to the statistics page on their website, 1 in every 6 women and 1 out of every 33 men will experience an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. Every year 60,000 children are victims of sexual assault or rape and nearly 19,000 members of the military experience some level of unwanted sexual contact. One of the biggest issues with combating sexual assault is that the majority of crimes go unreported which makes it difficult to track and nearly impossible to bring the offenders to justice.

I, myself, am a survivor of sexual assault / rape. When I was a teenager I survived an abusive relationship that destroyed my ability to stand up for myself. I did what anyone told me because that is what I had been programmed to do and even though I didn't trust anyone, I would go anywhere or do almost anything just because I felt like I needed someone to care for me, even if it was just pretend, in order to feel like I mattered at all. Because of that, I spent time with the wrong people and ended up being raped more than once. I reported one but was shamed and talked out of following through with pressing charges. The other times I was too embarrassed to even try. After the abuser spent years convincing me I was worthless, I believed I simply deserved to be raped. Because of that, none of the people who attacked me were ever charged, tried, or had to answer for what they did to me. At the time I wasn't strong enough to defend myself and now I live with the fear that my silence may have allowed them to do the same thing to someone else. 

I am honored to be supporting an organization that helps so many that struggle to help themselves and work to bring so many to justice for a horrible crime. The effects of surviving sexual assault / rape can last for years afterward, if not for life, and can lead to a number of additional issues such as drug use for coping or PTSD. If you would like to learn more about the statistics or programs RAINN is involved in you can visit their website at www.rainn.org.