Capitulation: RAINN, NSVRC, and NCMEC Remove Nearly All Mentions of Trans and Nonbinary People
Three sexual abuse nonprofits have removed all or nearly all mentions of trans people from their blogs and articles. All three receive federal funding, but are independent organizations.
This article is part of my series on government LGBTQ+ censorship.
UPDATE 2/21/2025, 2:35 PM PST: NSVRC communicated to me that this article was pivotal in their decision to reverse the removal of websites and restore access to vital resources for LGBTQ survivors of sexual violence. Thank you all for your support! See their statement here. As of now, RAINN and NCMEC have not reversed their decisions.
Three nonprofits that rely on federal funding have removed many (if not all) pages that mention transgender or LGBTQ+ people. This is despite the fact that these organizations are independent organizations that are not legally obliged to obey executive orders. (Credit to @devtesla.bsky.social for flagging this on Bluesky).
Journalists, researchers, activists, and attorneys engaged with relevant legal cases can access the unverified list of over 2000 LGBTQ+ censored webpages from my recent article by sending me your use case on Signal at madye2.39 or by email at madycast.com@gmail.com.
The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) has removed stories by trans survivors of rape, as well as other pages mentioning LGBTQ+ people. Here’s a short list (likely incomplete):
Jace’s Story (trans sexual trauma survivor) [Wayback Machine]
Sexual Violence Researcher Talks About Supporting Loved Ones [Wayback Machine]
Only one mention of trans people appears to remain on their website, in the Spanish version of their website. The English version of the same webpage does not mention trans people.
Webpages mentioning lesbian, gay, or bisexual people remain. Webpages mentioning queer people have been scrubbed.
According to a screenshot posted by activist Chris Ash on Bluesky, on February 7th, RAINN sent an update to “Speakers Bureau Members” informing them the organization is going to “unpublish and update a significant amount of RAINN’s existing content for a full refresh and relaunch.” The letter mentions removing all survivor stories, but does not mention the censorship of other unrelated articles about LGBTQ and trans people.
The National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) has removed dozens of blog posts and articles that mention trans people from the Blogs section of their webside. Other webpages mentioning organizations that support trans people remain. Here are a few notable samples. Sadly, there are too many removed webpages to list here.
Resources and Support for Transgender Survivors [Wayback Machine]
Part 1 - Treating Sexual Traumas Experienced by Transgender Uniformed Members During and After Their Service [Wayback Machine]
Part 1 - How We Can Prevent and Treat Sexual Violence that Targets Transgender and Gender-Expansive Incarcerated People [Wayback Machine]
From the Library: Transgender, Nonbinary, and Intersex Booklist [Wayback Machine]
Areas of Improvement for Sexual Assault Service Providers When Working With Transgender and Nonbinary Survivors [Wayback Machine]
Part 2 - How We Can Prevent and Treat Sexual Violence that Targets Transgender and Gender-Expansive Incarcerated People [Wayback Machine]
Data and Research Deficits for Aging Transgender+ and Intersex Populations Impact Physical and Sexual Health Outcomes [Wayback Machine]
Sexual and Domestic Violence, Isolation, and How It Determined Health Outcomes for Transgender and Gender Expansive People: A COVID-19 Perspective [Wayback Machine]
Transgender Day of Visibility 2018: Reflections and Messages of Hope [Wayback Machine]
Webpages under “nsvrc.org/organizations” still include mentions of trans people, since the list includes organizations that support trans rights. It appears that the blogs section was the main target for censorship.
National Center for Missing and Exploited Kids: As previously reported, the NCMEC capitulated to threats from the Trump administration to remove references to trans people from their public materials. A search on their website as well as Google shows no results for trans or LGBTQ+ people, except a few older PDFs that they likely missed.
Activists may want to consider community boycotts of donations to these organizations or other forms of protests to fight back against the capitulation of non-governmental entities. My recent interview with ACT UP activists illuminates helpful advice for those looking to recreate the successes of queer liberation movements from the past.
If you want to stay updated on the webpages I will continue to verify and report on, you should subscribe with your email! I also have a new Ko-fi with a lower monthly membership fee if you would like to support us that way and join the community Discord. Ko-fi takes a smaller fee and doesn’t financially support the far-right the way Substack does, and I will comp certain subscriptions from Ko-fi onto Substack.
Contact me with tips or questions on Signal at madye2.39 or by email madycast.com@gmail.com
Spineless fools. It probably betrays how insincere they were towards us 2SLGBTQI+ people in the first place.
This is what happens when our funding comes from outside groups/individuals/orgs that can then essentially blackmail us by saying they’ll pull the funding unless we do whatever they ask.