Reunion Online

We're proud to share the new www.ENDTHEBACKLOG.org, our website dedicated to shining a light on and ending the rape kit backlog—hundreds of thousands of rape kits collected in the aftermath of a sexual assault, sitting untested in police and crime lab storage facilities.

Today, with great excitement, gratitude and pride, we reveal an unprecedented PSA campaign for NO MORE. Directed by Joyful Heart's Founder & President, Mariska Hargitay, our cast includes more than 40 celebrities and public figures who have joined the campaign—added their voices—to say NO MORE to domestic violence and sexual assault.

Recent news headlines this summer have been full of harrowing cases of sexual assault and domestic violence, reminding us that there is so much yet to be done. Help us turn headlines into action.

This month, both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate advanced spending bills that include $117 million in grants that would help states and local governments to test backlogged DNA samples. We must tell our representatives to make this funding a priority.

Even though 1 in 4 women and nearly one in 7 men are directly affected by domestic violence in the U.S., it remains a largely hidden epidemic. Because we all have a role to play in preventing violence—and because talking about it is one of the first steps to ending it—the Verizon Foundation and CBS Sportscaster James Brown are helping to get the conversation going during a special #YourVoiceCounts Twitter Chat before the Super Bowl on Thursday, January 31 from 4:00 – 5:00 pm ET.

2013 is just around the corner and we know now, more than ever, how necessary and important our work is. Thanks to supporters like you, in 2013 we will continue to heal and empower survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse and the professionals who serve them. We will extend and grow our reach and we will respond to new community needs.