Another Bloody Podcast

From razor ads that invented a "problem" in 1915 to the J Sisters' salon that made the Brazilian a household word, Heather and Lisa trace the strange, sometimes prickly history of female hair removal — and why, a century later, the bush is having a comeback moment. We dig into how advertising, the bikini, Playboy, and enthusiastic celebrities shaped what women do (and don't do) below the belt, what OB-GYNs actually recommend, and why Gen Z is putting down the wax strips. Plus: the triumphant high-fashion return of the merkin.
 
Sources & Further Reading
On early hair-removal history and its advertising-driven origins
History of removal of leg and underarm hair in the United States Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_removal_of_leg_and_underarm_hair_in_the_United_States
Hair or Bare?: The History of American Women and Hair Removal, 1914–1934 Barnard College (Hansen, thesis PDF) https://history.barnard.edu/sites/default/files/inline-files/Hansen_HairOrBare_2007.pdf
On the bikini, Playboy, and the feminist backlash
The History of Female Hair Removal Women's Museum of California https://womensmuseum.wordpress.com/2017/11/22/the-history-of-female-hair-removal/
On the Brazilian wax and the J Sisters origin story
How Gwyneth Paltrow's "Life-Changing" Brazilian Bikini Wax Helped Dominate U.S. Beauty Trends WWD https://wwd.com/pop-culture/culture-news/brazilian-wax-j-sisters-trend-gwyneth-paltrow-celebrities-1235594910/
The Women Behind Brazilian Wax New Rain Eyebrow Threading (BBC-sourced account of the J Sisters) https://newraineyebrowthreading.com/the-women-behind-brazilian-wax/
The Brazilian Wax: A History & Culture The Yoni Temple https://www.theyonitemple.com/post/the-brazilian-wax-a-history-culture
The History of the Brazilian Wax Sweet Pea Waxing https://sweetpeawaxing.com/history-of-the-brazilian-wax/
On current prevalence, methods, and reasons (research and clinical)
Pubic Hair Removal among Women in the United States: Prevalence, Methods, and Characteristics (Herbenick et al.) ScienceDirect https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1743609515327326
Pubic Hair Removal among Women in the United States (PubMed listing of the Herbenick et al. study) PubMed https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20646183/
Historical and Social Contextualization of Female Pubic Hair Removal ResearchGate https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287329005_Historical_and_social_contextualization_of_female_pubic_hair_removal
To Shave or Not to Shave: An OB-GYN's Guide to Pubic Hair Care American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) https://www.acog.org/womens-health/experts-and-stories/the-latest/to-shave-or-not-to-shave-an-ob-gyns-guide-to-pubic-hair-care
On the return of the bush (and the merkin)
The Bush Is Back in 2025 — Just Ask Skims Vogue, 2025 https://www.vogue.com/article/full-bush-in-a-bikini-trend
Pubic Hair Removal Practices among Women, 2024 Women's Health (PMC) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11558735/#section24-17455057241296982
Pubic Hair Grooming Trends: 2016 vs. 2024 Prevalence Data PMC / National Library of Medicine https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10926629/
Another Bloody Podcast is hosted by Heather O'Neill and Lisa Pierce Flores. Follow us on Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, Facebook, X, and YouTube.

This week, Heather and Lisa dive into one of gynecology's most dreaded instruments — the speculum — and the wave of new, more comfortable designs headed to doctors' offices. They cover updated cervical cancer screening guidelines, applaud the medical community's call for less-frequent Pap smears, and trace the speculum's surprisingly dark and ancient history. Plus: Find out which book they have chosen as the next Another Bloody Book Club pick.
Resources & Sources Mentioned:
• 2025 Harris Poll / BD survey
https://news.bd.com/2025-01-09-New-Survey-Finds-Women-Are-Skipping-Their-OB-GYN-Exams,-Increasing-Risks-for-Cervical-Cancer


• American College of Obstetricians and Gynocologists (ACOG), Updated Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines, 2026 
httphttps://www.acog.org/news/news-releases/2026/04/acog-publishes-updated-cervical-cancer-screening-guidance
• An Innovative Design for the Vaginal Speculum, Medical Devices: Evidence and Research, 2023
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10542509/
• Reinventing the Vaginal Speculum: Women’s Health, University of California, Irvine, 2023https://engineering.uci.edu/news/2023/9/reinventing-vaginal-speculum-women-s-health
• Screening for Cervical Cancer, Obstetrics & Gynocology, 2026https://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/fulltext/2026/07000/screening_for_cervical_cancer.30.aspx
• Wellcome Collection's history of the speculum, including the Pompeii find and the Sims/Graves lineagehttps://wellcomecollection.org/stories/a-nasty-history-of-the-vaginal-speculum

• The controversial Dr. J. Marion Sims, International Urogynecology Journal, 2020https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32328679/
• Statue celebrates 'Mothers of Gynecology' at Black women's birthing conference, NPR, 2022https://www.npr.org/2022/03/28/1089062082/statue-celebrates-mothers-of-gynecology-at-black-womens- birthing-conference 
New speculum designs:
◦Bouquet Speculum™ — five-petal radial design
https://viospex.com/about-the-product


◦Lilium — three-petal rubber speculum from TU Delft researchers Tamara Hoveling and Ariadna Izcara Gualhttps://www.tudelft.nl/en/ide/delft-design-stories/new-vaginal-speculum-design-might-motivate-women-to-go-for-health-checkups


◦OneSpec — tampon-sized, self-insertable design from UC Irvine's Feminora teamhttps://engineering.uci.edu/news/2023/9/reinventing-vaginal-speculum-women-s-health
 
• O&G Magazine roundup of alternative speculum options, 2026https://www.ogmagazine.org.au/28/2-28/new-and-emerging-alternative-speculum-options/


Our July Another Bloody Book Club pick: The New Perimenopause by Dr. Mary Claire Haver
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/777456/the-new-perimenopause-by-mary-claire-haver-md/

When YouTube creator Jesse Ridgway (McJuggerNuggets) and his wife Audrey announced on X that they'd terminated a pregnancy after a Down syndrome (Trisomy 21) diagnosis, millions saw it — and the backlash was immediate. Death threats. Viral condemnation. Coverage in People.
The response from abortion opponents was predictable. But the disability community also pushed back, challenging how Ridgway characterized Down syndrome and what life with an intellectually disabled loved one actually looks like. Lisa, the mother of a child with autism, watched this scandal erupt in real time — scrolling between posts while her son competed at the Special Olympics Summer Games. 
This week, we unpack what happened, what it reveals about the abortion debate, and what the disability community wants you to understand.
Sources & Further Reading
Jesse Ridgway's X AnnouncementMcJuggerNuggets shared his and his wife Audrey's decision to terminate their pregnancy following a Down syndrome diagnosis via amniocentesis at four months. The post quickly surpassed 1.5 million views.https://x.com/McJuggerNuggets/status/2062315803177881822
"Jesse Ridgway speaks out on death threats after ending pregnancy due to Down syndrome"Emily S. Martin, Los Angeles Times, June 4, 2026https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2026-06-04/jesse-ridgway-says-couple-ended-pregnancy-post-down-syndrome-diagnosis
"Mom of Son with Down Syndrome 'Vehemently Disagrees' with View It 'Isn't a Blessing'"Kayla Grant, Peoplehttps://people.com/mom-of-son-with-down-syndrome-disagrees-not-a-blessing-amid-jesse-ridgway-comments-exclusive-11992515
Living With Down SyndromeCenters for Disease Control and Prevention — an overview of the health implications associated with Down syndrome (Trisomy 21), including congenital heart defects, hearing and vision loss, hypothyroidism, and sleep apnea.https://www.cdc.gov/birth-defects/living-with-down-syndrome/index.html
"Abortion Experiences, Knowledge, and Attitudes Among Women in the U.S."KFF Women's Health Survey, 2024 — includes data on abortion rates among women who identify as pro-life (8%) versus pro-choice (17%).https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/abortion-experiences-knowledge-attitudes-among-u-s-women-2024-womens-health-survey/
Family & Individual Needs for Disability Supports (FINDS) SurveyThe Arc, 2023 — documents the financial strain, chronic illness, and mental health burdens facing caregivers of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.https://thearc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/FINDS-Community-Report-2023.pdf
"Down Syndrome Births Rise Unexpectedly"NPR Shots (Health News Blog)https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2009/12/down_syndrome_births_rise_unex.html
"Study: Down Syndrome Births Up"NPRhttps://www.npr.org/2009/12/01/120994683/study-down-syndrome-births-up
“Abortion Experiences, Knowledge, and Attitudes Among Women in the U.S.” KFF Women’s Health Surveyhttps://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/abortion-experiences-knowledge-attitudes-among-u-s-women-2024-womens-health-survey/

Inspired by Jen Hatmaker’s 2025 memoir Awake, Lisa and Heather take a deep dive into the hellscape that is evangelical Christian purity culture.
A generation ago, purity culture was having a moment. Some of Hollywood’s most popular young actors and teen pop stars were publicly declaring their intention to abstain from sex until marriage. The media responded with a creepy level of curiosity about the sex lives of famous teens. And the buzz all this anti-sex talk created helped grow a movement that affected millions of teens, tweens, and young adult.
Now many of these now-adults are renouncing so-called purity culture and talking about the dark side of the movement. Purity culture survivors say the movement pressured young people to embrace an extreme definition of abstinence, made those who failed to do so feel unlovable and unclean, and created an atmosphere that fostered sexual abuse, blaming victims and protecting abusers.
We talk about the origins of the movement, why it’s losing steam, and how survivors are creating safe spaces for those seeking help and healing.
Trigger warning: In this episode we talk about rape, sexual coercion, and other forms of sexual and emotional abuse.
If you’re a survivor of religious trauma, please consider reaching out to:
The Reclamation Collectivehttps://www.reclamationcollective.com/
Sources:
Awake, by Jen Hatmaker, 2025
“Evangelical Purity Culture and Its Discontents,” by Kathryn House and Sara Moslener, Theology & Sexuality, 2023
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13558358.2024.2332976
“How an Abstinence Pledge in the ’90s Shamed a Generation of Evangelicals” by Clyde Haberman, New York Times, 2021
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/us/abstinence-pledge-evangelicals.htmlhttps://retroreport.org/video/shamed-by-sex-survivors-of-the-purity-movement-confront-the-past/
“Findings from the 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study,” Pew Research Center
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/02/26/decline-of-christianity-in-the-us-has-slowed-may-have-leveled-off/
Ganster Capitalism, Season 3
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/introducing-season-3-gangster-capitalism-jerry-falwell/id1460320573
 
“Liberty University Fined $14 Million for Mishandling Sex Assaults and Other Crimes,” by Zack Montague, New York Times, 2024
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/05/us/politics/liberty-university-fine-crime-sexual-assaults.html
““The Liberty Way”: How Liberty University Discourages and Dismisses Students’ Reports of Sexual Assaults,” ProPublica, 2021
https://www.propublica.org/article/the-liberty-way-how-liberty-university-discourages-and-dismisses-students-reports-of-sexual-assaults
“Abuse of Faith,” Houston Chronicle, 2019
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/abuse-of-faith/
“Josh Duggar Sentenced to More Than 12 Years in Prison in Child Sex Abuse Image Case,” NBC News, 2022
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/josh-duggar-sentenced-12-years-prison-child-sex-abuse-image-case-rcna30577

If you've ever been caught without a pad or tampon and felt that flash of panic, you already understand a small piece of what millions of people navigate every single day: period poverty.
In this episode, Heather and Lisa sit down with period equity advocate Rakisha Kearns-White, who has spent the past seven years working to end menstrual stigma and provide accurate sexual health information in public spaces. With 37% of U.S. adults and 25% of students reporting that they've struggled to afford menstrual products, the numbers are striking. And as wages stagnate, social safety nets erode, and the cost of living climbs, it's getting even harder for people to afford the products they need so that they can access employment, education, and get on with their lives.
Rakisha breaks down what period poverty and menstrual equity actually mean, how her advocacy grew out of a single moment at her library branch, why period stigma makes everything harder, and how anyone — regardless of gender — can get involved. 
To help address period poverty, contact:
• Rakisha Kearns-White at theperiodlibrarian@gmail.com
• Period, period.org, a national organization with school and college chapters across the US that hosts period packing parties and advocacy events
• Her Period Dignity, herperioddignity.co, working to end period poverty and provide dignified access to menstrual products
• Aunt Flow, goauntflow.com, Columbus, Ohio-based organization fighting period poverty and stigma by providing free period products in schools and workplaces
• Simply the Basics, simplythebasics.org, distributing menstrual products, diapers, and personal care items to people experiencing homelessness and low-income communities across the U.S.
To help locally
Donate period products to your local food pantry, homeless shelter, or care box drives through scouting groups and religious organizations
Set up a free little pantry in your community stocked with menstrual products alongside other essentials
Sign petitions advocating for EBT/SNAP coverage of menstrual products
Show Notes
Period Poverty: Why Millions of Girls and Women Cannot Afford Their Periods, UN Women
https://www.unwomen.org/en/articles/explainer/period-poverty-why-millions-of-girls-and-women-cannot-afford-their-periods
 
"Period Poverty Is On the Rise," findings from a study by Dignity Grows and the Period Poverty Institute of America 
https://dignitygrows.org/period-poverty-in-the-u-s-is-on-the-rise-worsening-education-and-economic-outcomes/
 
Women in the Workplace 2025, McKinsey 
https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/women-in-the-workplace
 
"Florida Backs Off on Requiring Athletes' Mentrual Data," Associated Press
https://apnews.com/article/florida-menstruation-cycle-athletes-497fbf37a7ca0c6ad28e2f491abe6e92
 
 

Your vagina is changing, and nobody warned you. Heather and Lisa are here to give you the 411 on this 911 situation.
In this episode, we're diving into vaginal atrophy — the condition affecting roughly 50% of perimenopausal and menopausal women, where tissues dry out, shrink, and generally stage a quiet revolt. Your clitoris can retract like a turtle. Your labia can disappear. Fun times!
Heather and Lisa break down the symptoms you might not realize are connected to your hormones (like recurring UTIs, a vanished sex drive and spontaneous pants-peeing), and walk through treatment options — from estrogen patches to a fancy box of dilators.
Listen up. Your vanishing vagina deserves better.
Show Notes
"Vaginal Atrophy," Cleveland Clinic https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15500-vaginal-atrophy
"Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause" by Karen Carlson and Hao Nguyen, NIH https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559297/#
"New Analysis of Women's Health Initiative Data Aims to 'Clear the Air' Over Menopausal Hormone Therapy" by Kate Schweitzer, JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2839211
"Hormonal Treatments and Vaginal Moisturizers for Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause: A Systematic Review" by Elisheva R. Danan et al., Annals of Internal Medicine, 2025 (includes research on Royal Jelly) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12333043/

Last week, President Trump gathered RFK Jr., Dr. Mehmet Oz, and a room full of pronatalists to push his fertility and maternal healthcare agenda — and hosts Heather and Lisa had a lot of feelings about it. Sure, they had a field day with Dr. Oz's declaration that one in three Americans are "underbabied" and RFK Jr.'s, er, passionate interest in teen sperm counts. (Yes, really.) But once the laughing died down, things got a lot more serious. In this episode, Heather and Lisa dig into the policy proposals that came out of that press conference — ones that could have genuinely dangerous consequences for maternal healthcare — and unpack the complicated, often misunderstood research behind declining birth rates in the U.S. and around the world. 
Show Notes
The following sources were consulted in preparation for this discussion:
The Daily Show's segment on President Trump’s press conference on maternal healthcare:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWF4XLGBEAU
Full Maternal Healthcare Press Conference https://www.c-span.org/program/white-house-event/president-trump-hosts-maternal-health-care-event/678967
"Temporal Trends in Sperm Count," Levine et al., Human Reproductive Update, November 2022.https://academic.oup.com/humupd/article/29/2/157/6824414
“710,000 Fewer Babies Were Born Last Year in U.S. Compared With Two Decades Ago” by Brian Mann, NPRhttps://www.npr.org/2026/04/09/nx-s1-5779627/birthrate-united-states-babies-immigration
“A Dangerous Shift in Maternal Health Policy” by Stephanie Psaki, Dara Kass and Elizabeth Tobin-Tyler, Timehttps://time.com/article/2026/04/29/a-dangerous-shift-in-maternal-health-policy/
“No More Babies? Nobel Laureate’s Take On Fertility Decline” by Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, Forbeshttps://www.forbes.com/sites/avivahwittenbergcox/2025/06/16/no-more-babies-nobel-laureates-take-on-fertility-decline/
Babies and the Macroeconomy by Claudia Goldinhttps://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w33311/w33311.pdf
Why So Few Births? Hoover Institutionhttps://www.hoover.org/research/why-so-few-births
“Funding Cut for Landmark Study of Women's Health” by Rob Stein, NPRhttps://www.npr.org/2025/04/23/nx-s1-5372892/womens-health-initiative-research-funding-gets-cut
“What Happens to Health Research When 'Women' and 'Diversity' Are Banned Words?” by Shefali Luthra and Barbara Rodriguez, The 19th/PBShttps://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/what-happens-to-health-research-when-women-and-diversity-are-banned-words
Documentary: “Liberty Lost” https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/liberty-lost/id1815337795
Documentary: “Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever” 2025https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf9e1o7rUeo
These organizations are working to increase women’s healthcare access:
Women’s Healthcare Access Matters https://whamnow.org/
The Guttmacher Institutehttps://www.guttmacher.org/
Center for Reproductive Rights https://reproductiverights.org/

This week we discuss the medically unnecessary product women were taught they couldn’t live without: the douche. About 20% of U.S. women use disposable douche products for vaginal cleansing on a weekly basis. Far more have used them at least once. Yet medical experts say these "hygiene" products are unnecessary and can even be hazardous to your health. So why, despite decades of research linking douching to increased risk of vaginitis, UTI, and even cancer, do women continue to spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year on a product nearly every healthcare expert inists they don't need?
We dive into the convoluted history of the modern-day disposable douche and a century's worth of marketing strategies designed to convince women that they ought to be ashamed of their "down there."
Show Notes and Sources Consulted:
During the recording of this episode Heather asked Lisa if there are warnings about cancer and other serious health risks like vaginitis on the packaging or marketing materials for douching products from companies like Summer’s Eve do contain warnings, but they do not explicitly convey the possible health risks from use or overuse. Instead they caution against douching more than twice a week, during pregnancy, as a form of contraception, or to treat STDs.
Douching, Office of Women's Health https://womenshealth.gov/a-z-topics/douching
“When Women Used Lysol as Birth Control,” by Nicole Pasulka, Mother Jones, March 2012  https://www.motherjones.com/media/2012/03/when-women-used-lysol-birth-control/
“Why You Should Not Ever Need to Douche,” Cleveland Clinic, 2025https://health.clevelandclinic.org/douche
Devices and Desires: A History of Contraception in America by Andrea Tone, 2001
“Study Links Talc Use to Ovarian Cancer,” by Aria Bendix, NBC Newshttps://www.nbcnews.com/health/cancer/talc-baby-powder-linked-ovarian-cancer-jj-lawsuit-rcna152493

In our first ever installment of Another Bloody Book Club, Heather and Lisa dig into Famesick, Lena Dunham's raw and surprisingly funny memoir about the collision of ambition, chronic illness, and public life. They explore what the book reveals about the invisible toll of endometriosis, the pressure women face to keep showing up no matter how sick they are, and the particular loneliness of experiencing physical pain that no one can see from the outside. Along the way, they get personal — sharing their own experiences with hysterectomies, pain management, and what it really feels like when your body is altered forever.You can buy Lena Dunham's book Famesick from the following retailers:
Green Apple Books
Penguin Random House
Amazon
Barnes & NobleThe following sources were referenced during this episode: "Out for Blood: After Years of Medical Gaslighting, a Hysterectomy Set Me Free" by Heather O'Neill, Jennyhttps://jennymag.com/2024/02/07/endometriosis-hysterectomy-gaslighting/What Is EDS? The Ehlers-Danlos Societyhttps://www.ehlers-danlos.com/what-is-eds/ "Linking Stress and Inflammation to Chronic Disease," The Institute for Functional Medicinehttps://www.ifm.org/podcast/stress-inflammation-chronic-disease"Study Finds Women at Greater Risk of Depression, Anxiety After Hysterectomy," Mayo Clinichttps://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/study-finds-women-at-greater-risk-of-depression-anxiety-after-hysterectomy/
 

In Part 2 of our Sexual Assault Awareness Month conversation, we unpack some of the terminology and ideas mentioned in our interview with advocate Sharon Walker Epps in Episode 10, starting with a roadmap of the terrifying, predatory digital world young people and parents are struggling to navigate. From there, Heather interviews Lisa about her own work as a sexual assault crisis counselor and workshop leader. Finally, we end the episode with a writing prompt from Lisa's Writing Toward Healing workshop that she has developed for sexual assault and intimate partner abuse survivors.
Show Notes  
The following resources were mentioned or consulted in preparation for this epiisode and Episode 10 of Another Bloody Podcast:
RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline, 24/7 confidential support, crisis counseling, and connection to local services across the U.S.: 1-800-656-HOPE (4673); https://www.rainn.org
The Rowan Center
Sexual assault resource agency serving lower Fairfield County, Connecticut.
24/7 Hotline: 203-329-2929;
https://www.therowancenter.org
National Domestic Violence Hotline, 24/7 confidential support for anyone experiencing intimate partner violence: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233);
Text: START to 88788; https://www.thehotline.org/
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)
CyberTipline to report child exploitation, online enticement, trafficking, or abuse imagery: 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678);
https://report.cybertip.org;
https://www.missingkids.org
Thorn
Works to combat online child sexual exploitation: https://www.thorn.org
KidSafe HQ
Digital safety resource created by the Rowan Center to help parents protect children online and offline: https://www.therowancenter.org
National Human Trafficking Hotline, 24/7 confidential support and reporting: 1-888-373-7888;
Text: 233733 (BEFREE); https://humantraffickinghotline.org
Connecticut Office of Victim Services
May provide financial assistance to eligible crime victims: 1-800-822-8428;
https://jud.ct.gov/crimevictim/
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline support for emotional distress or mental health crisis:
Call or text 988
24/7; https://988lifeline.org
CDC: The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, statistics on the frequency of sexual violence: https://www.cdc.gov/nisvs/media/pdfs/sexualviolence-brief.pdf
National Sexual Violence Resource Center: https://www.nsvrc.org/
The Grateful Garment (Go shopping for supplies to support SA survivors!): https://gratefulgarment.org/Way of Healing: How Telling Our Stories Transforms Our Lives, by Louise DeSalvo https://www.beacon.org/Writing-as-a-Way-of-Healing-P436.aspx
“Mother” by Lola Ridge (public domain)https://poets.org/poem/mother-1
The Center for Empowerment and Education, serving victims of interpersonal violence in Danbury, CThttps://thecenterct.org/
Find Local Help Anywhere in the U.S. Remember, local rape crisis centers, domestic violence agencies, and child advocacy organizations exist in most communities. RAINN and the National Domestic Violence Hotline can connect you.