On Dec. 12, 2022, Congress passed the PROTECT Our Children Act, sending it to President Joe Biden for his signature, and the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network (RAINN) can’t overemphasize the importance of this crucial legislation. PROTECT is an acronym that stands for Providing Resources, Officers, and Technology to Eradicate Cyber Threats.
A child is sexually abused every nine minutes, according to the latest government statistics.. RAINN and similar organizations have been founded to help combat this growing trend and provide advocacy and relief for those affected.
“We are immensely grateful to House and Senate leadership for swiftly passing the PROTECT Our Children Act before the end of the 117th Congress,” said Samantha Cadet, director of federal affairs for RAINN. “This legislation authorizes critical funding to the agencies tasked with identifying and rescuing children from sexual abuse and exploitation. There is a growing epidemic of sexual violence against children in the United States — we need authorities on the ground tackling this issue now more than ever before.”
While many of the instances of child sexual abuse go unreported and unrecognized in research and statistics, the nonprofit organization RAINN has indicated that there has recently been an alarming rise in child sexual abuse material. In response to this, the organization has continued to advocate for legislation that will help protect the rights of children affected by these crimes, as well as to produce content that can help provide resources for victims and their families. To this end, RAINN supported the PROTECT Our Children Act of 2022 alongside the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The impact of this legislation will be felt throughout the community by those who have been victims of sexual abuse crimes. The act is designed to help identify and advocate for the well-being of victims while also apprehending offenders. In detail, the act reauthorized the National Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program, extending the program through 2024 to help combat child exploitation. The original legislation was passed in 2008 and authorized a national effort including 61 task forces engaged in both reactive and proactive investigations into child abuse crimes.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal commented on the act’s passing, saying, “Today’s vote is an important step in the fight to protect victims of online child exploitation. With our bipartisan measure, law enforcement will be given the resources needed to investigate these unspeakable crimes and hold criminals accountable. Reauthorization of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program cannot wait.” ICACs, as a result of the legislation, will continue to provide programs and guidance for victims of sexual abuse crimes, educate communities and create awareness of these crimes, and bring criminals to justice across the country. In 2021 alone, the joint task forces arrested over 10,000 perpetrators of online sexual abuse and exploitation of children.
RAINN remains deeply involved in public policy, advocating to help improve the overall criminal justice system to make communities safer. This includes collaboration with the Departments of Justice, Education, and Health and Human Services to help achieve better outcomes and responses to sexual crimes for victims of all ages. RAINN is committed to providing resources that can be life changing and lifesaving to individuals and their families who have been affected by sexual abuse crimes.
Founded in 1994 by president Scott Berkowitz, RAINN operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline at (800) 656-HOPE (online.rainn.org, for online chat) as a resource for victims and their families. Since its inception, RAINN has aided over 4 million individual survivors and their loved ones. The nonprofit also operates hotlines for local communities and corporations, including the Department of Defense, to make it easier for victims to come forward to seek assistance.
In an additional response to the growing trend in sexual abuse cases in children, RAINN recently developed its Lean On Me series, designed to help parents and caregivers navigate conversations with children regarding sexual abuse experiences. The five-episode video series and accompanying guidebook can help educate caregivers, as child victims of sexual abuse crimes often don’t come forward or have the words to describe their experiences. RAINN creates resources like Lean On Me and supports legislation like the PROTECT Our Children Act to help bring social justice and change to a complex and often difficult-to-navigate topic that urgently needs to be addressed nationwide.
