The largest anti-sexual violence organization in the United States is prohibiting its employees from making referrals to resources for marginalized communities — reportedly out of fear that the Trump administration will cut its funding for promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.
The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) has dropped more than two dozen resources from its list of permitted referrals, according to documents obtained by The New York Times. Staff and volunteers who answer phone calls, online chats and texts have been told not to make referrals to organizations that help immigrants and LGBTQ+ people — who are at disproportionately higher risk of experiencing sexual violence.
“Our priority is and always will be to ensure the continuation of our mission of ending sexual violence and helping every survivor who reaches out to us,” a RAINN spokesperson told HuffPost on Thursday.
But RAINN confirmed to the Times that it has removed referrals to LGBTQ-centered mental health hotlines, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, a group educating students on sex-based discrimination, and books on understanding same-sex sexual violence, among others.
RAINN and its local affiliates run the National Sexual Assault Hotline, one of the country’s biggest crisis lines for survivors of sexual violence. RAINN also operates a federally funded crisis line for members of the military.
The nonprofit attributed the changes to President Donald Trump’s executive orders that cut federal funding for organizations with diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The orders currently face legal challenges, but RAINN moved to comply with them regardless.
“We have done everything possible to ensure both that we are compliant with federal requirements and that we stay true to our values of offering every survivor the respect and support they deserve,” the spokesperson said. “And that’s never going to change.”
The spokesperson did not immediately say whether the group is planning to add alternative resources for marginalized people to make up for ones that were dropped.
RAINN previously faced backlash for removing all mention of transgender people from its website, The Washington Post reported in February. The organization erased a page featuring stories by trans survivors as well as another detailing RAINN’s inclusion policy, according to archived information obtained by journalist Mady Castigan.
Volunteers have reportedly sent multiple letters to RAINN’s board of directors urging the group to restore resources for marginalized communities and create a plan for operating should the group lose federal funding. The most recent letter cited the Trevor Project, a suicide-prevention group for LGBTQ youth that launched an emergency fundraising campaign to keep its resources in the face of potential funding cuts.
“When trans, queer, Black, brown, Asian and undocumented survivors come to the hotline in crisis, we are not allowed to provide them with the same level of supportive care as other survivors,” the most recent letter said, according to the Times. “RAINN may face uncertain risks in the future if we stand by marginalized survivors, but we are certain to lose our values now if we do not stand with them today.”