
I don't know how to get more rain to fall on parched ground, but I have found another kind of RAINN Day to promote as a way of combating sexual violence.
"Every 2 minutes, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted," according to RAINN, The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. Of those victims, 80% will be under the age of 30, 44% will be under the age of 18 (http://www.rainn.org/statistics). College students are encouraged to host events to raise awareness of sexual violence on RAINN Day, Thursday, September 27, 2012.
Consider conducting an event of your own. Some of last year's RAINN Day events are highlighted in Cosmopolitan.
For instance, at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 40 umbrellas were painted with sexual assault information and placed on the ground in the grove. The Undergraduate Student Government at Boston College wore matching t-shirts printed with "Sexual Assault Awareness Day" and the local hotline number. Elsewhere in the nation, campuses held raffles, symposia, screenings of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and activities such as chalking statistics on campus sidewalks.
Do your own RAINN dance on your campus or in your community. Check out the RAINN website or call these numbers for more information on preventing or responding to sexual violence.
- Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network Website: http://www.rainn.org/
- National Sexual Assault Hotline: 800-656-HOPE (4673)
- National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-SAFE (7233) or 800-787-3224 (TDD)