RAINN Law and Legal Definition
The term "RAINN" means the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation headquartered in the District of Columbia. Since 1994 it has provided help to victims of sexual assault and educated the public about sexual assault prevention, prosecution, and recovery. More than 1,100 local rape crisis centers in the 50 States and the District of Columbia partner with RAINN and are members of the National Sexual Assault Hotline network (which has helped more than 970,000 people since its inception in 1994). Partly due to the combined efforts of law enforcement officials at the local, State, and Federal level, as well as the efforts of the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) and its affiliated rape crisis centers across the United States, sexual violence in America has fallen by more than half since 1994.
Congress and the Department of Justice have given RAINN funding to conduct its crucial work. RAINN is a national model of public/private partnership, raising private sector funds to match congressional appropriations and receiving extensive private in-kind support, including advanced technology provided by the communications and technology industries to launch the National Sexual Assault Hotline and the National Sexual Assault Online Hotline. [42 USCS § 16985]
