RAINN
Phase 1

Scenarios

Both Sarah and Alan offer typical representations of the circumstances that lead one to use RAINN services. The questions following their scenarios should help you use them as a basis for broadening your understanding.

Sarah

Sarah, 19, lives with her mother in a small, conservative, rural community. Sarah’s father died when she was 16 years old. Sarah’s uncle, her mother’s brother, occasionally visits on holidays. Three months ago, while her mother was out of the house, her uncle told Sarah that he loved her and then threw her down on the couch and raped her. He later told her to never mention what happened; he would go to jail, and that would be another loss her mother could not take. Sarah was terrified, ashamed, and hurt. She was relieved to have her period—at least she wasn’t pregnant--but she became anxious and withdrawn. She wouldn’t go out and couldn’t look her mom in the eyes. She missed so much work that she lost her job. She has trouble sleeping and has lost weight.

Sarah

Alan

Alan, age 34, is a successful young Black man, married with one child. He works as a manager at a grocery store and is taking accounting classes to finish his degree. While his life appears stable, he lives with great inner turmoil. When Alan was 13, he was gang-raped on the way home from school by three older boys. Out of a sense of deep shame, he has never told anyone, including his parents or, later, his wife. He continues to have violent nightmares, and he suffers from high blood pressure, headaches, sleeplessness, and anxiety. Alan is prone to temper outbursts with his family followed by guilt and depression. He sometimes thinks of suicide. One evening when he couldn’t sleep, he searched online for “help for rape victims”. The first link he found was for RAINN.org.

Alan Photo by Fortune Vieyra on Unspalsh

Answer the questions below

  1. What advantages does RAINN’s service delivery model pose for someone like Sarah? For Alan?
  2. What are the disadvantages, compared to a more ‘traditional’, in-person agency? How might Sarah and Alan experiences with RAINN’s online hotline and app features differ?
  3. How do you believe people learn about RAINN services? What are the implications for RAINN outreach efforts? What can organizations using different service models learn from RAINN’s communications efforts?

Organization Chart

Review and take notes on the RAINN Organization Chart

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