Did you know there is a National Sexual Assault Hotline? The National Sexual Assault Hotline number is toll free number, which means there is no cost to call the number. Anyone anytime day or night can call from anywhere inside the United States. Help is available by dialing 1-800-656-HOPE or 4673.

The following information about the National Sexual Assault Hotline comes from the RAINN’s (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) website. According to RAINN “at any given moment, more than 1,100 trained volunteers are on duty and available to help victims at RAINN-affiliated crisis centers across the country”. So how does it all work?

When someone calls the hotline number, the specially designed system activates by focusing on the caller’s area code. The area code is the first three numbers in a nine-digit phone number. Then “the call is then instantaneously connected to the nearest RAINN member center” or “if all counselors at that center are busy, the call is sent to the next closest center”.

When you call the hotline, your information remains confidential. That means that the 24 hour 7 day, a week hotline does not keep the caller’s phone number or any identifying information associated with the phone number, unless the caller chooses to provide that information personally once connected to a counselor. The number is safe to call.

The statistics provided by RAINN regarding sexual assaults in America are staggering. RAIIN reports, “according to the U.S. Department of Justice's National Crime Victimization Survey --there is an average of 207,754 victims (age 12 or older) of rape and sexual assault each year”. When RAIIN breaks that statistic down to size it means “every 2 minutes, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted”.

Sadly, even today people still attach a huge stigma to rape and it is because of this that RAINN reports “54% of sexual assaults go unreported” which means, “97% of rapists will never serve time in jail”. Did you know “approximately 2/3 of assaults are committed by someone known to the victim” and “38% of rapists are a friend or acquaintance”? Rape can happen to anyone.

If you or someone you know has been raped, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (or 4673). Help is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week. No one deserves rape. Regardless of how they dress or act, the only person responsible for rape is the perpetrator committing the act.

Please realize you do not have to go through the aftermath of this violent act alone. There is help available by calling the hotline provided. When you call, someone will answer the phone. That person is there to answer questions and provide support to help you get on the road to recovery. You deserve support to get through these hard times. You can reclaim your life. Please call now.