Rape Hurts Foundation (RHF)

Rape Hurts Foundation (RHF) Mission and Vision

Our Vision

A Uganda where every survivor of Gender Based Violence/Human Trafficking/Modern Day Slavery is believed, supported, and empowered. Where no woman or girl is trafficked, enslaved, or denied an education; and where communities thrive with dignity through economic opportunity, sustainable farming, renewable energy, and unwavering respect for human rights.

Our Mission

To holistically support survivors of survivors and vulnerable individuals by:

• Providing survivor-centered crisis support, including psychosocial care, medical referrals, legal guidance, and advocacy for healthcare as a human right.
• Rescuing and rehabilitating victims of human trafficking and modern day slavery, while raising community awareness to prevent these crimes.
• Empowering women and youth through vocational skilling and economic empowerment programs that lead to sustainable livelihoods and independence.
• Promoting girl child education through school fees assistance, mentorship, and resources that keep girls safe, in school, and free from early marriage and exploitation.
• Strengthening food security and economic resilience through sustainable farming training, tools, seeds, and cooperative development.
• Expanding access to solar power and renewable energy to improve safety, extend study hours for girls, reduce household poverty, and create green job opportunities.
• Changing harmful social norms through community awareness, outreach, and prevention campaigns that reduce stigma and stop violence before it starts.

We believe that true freedom requires more than an end to violence, it requires economic independence, education, sustainable resources, and a community that chooses dignity for all.

Our Core Values

• Survivor-Centered: Survivors lead their own healing. We listen, believe, and follow their lead.
• Holistic: We address root causes of poverty, ignorance, exploitation, not just symptoms.
• Empowerment: We build skills, confidence, and independence, not dependence.
• Dignity: Every person deserves respect, safety, and the chance to thrive.
• Sustainability: Our programs in farming, solar, vocational training, create lasting change.

Justice: We fight for human rights, including healthcare, education, environmental justice and freedom from slavery.

Who We Are

Rape Hurts Foundation (RHF) is a survivor-centered, community-based organization headquartered in Jinja, Uganda. We were founded to address the urgent and often hidden needs of survivors of sexual violence. Over time, we have grown to understand that sexual violence rarely happens in isolation. Poverty, lack of education, human trafficking, modern day slavery, and economic desperation create the conditions where violence and exploitation thrive.

That is why RHF does not offer band-aid solutions. We offer holistic, long-term pathways to safety, dignity, and independence.

Whom We Serve

We serve:

• Survivors of sexual violence – Women, girls, and men who have experienced rape, assault, or abuse. We provide psychosocial support, medical referrals, legal guidance, and a safe place to be heard and believed.
• Victims of human trafficking and modern day slavery – Individuals forced into labor, domestic servitude, or commercial exploitation. We help with rescue, rehabilitation, reintegration, and prevention.
• At-risk girls – Girls facing child marriage, female genital mutilation, or school dropout due to poverty or family pressure. We support girl child education through school fees, sanitary pads, and mentorship.
• Unemployed women and youth – Those who lack skills or capital to earn a living. We provide vocational training in tailoring, baking, hairdressing, handicrafts, and small business management.
• Smallholder farmers – Mostly women, farming to feed their families. We train them in sustainable farming techniques, provide seeds and tools, and help form cooperatives for better income.
• Households without electricity – Families still using dangerous kerosene lamps. We promote solar power adoption, which saves money, keeps girls studying after dark, and creates small business opportunities.
• Entire communities – Through awareness campaigns, radio talks, and school outreach, we work to change harmful norms, reduce stigma, and prevent violence and exploitation before they start.

Our Core Values

These values guide everything we do:

• Survivor-Centered – Survivors know their own needs best. We listen, we believe, and we follow their lead.
• Holistic – A survivor cannot heal if she is hungry, uneducated, enslaved, or living in darkness. We address the whole person and their environment.
• Empowerment – We do not create dependence. We build skills, confidence, and economic power so individuals can stand on their own.
• Dignity – Every person we serve is treated with respect, kindness, and without judgment.
• Sustainability – Our farming, solar, and vocational programs are designed to keep working long after we leave.
• Justice – Healthcare is a human right. Education is a human right. Freedom from slavery is a human right. We fight for all of them.

What Makes RHF Different?

• We are grassroots. We live in Jinja. We know our community, its strengths, and its struggles firsthand.
• We work across sectors. Most organizations focus on one issue. RHF connects sexual violence, trafficking, education, farming, energy, and economic empowerment because they are connected in real life.
• We believe in practical solutions. We do not just talk about human rights. We teach farming. We install solar. We train tailors. We pay school fees. We rescue trafficking victims.
• We give full credit. Volunteers, writers, and partners receive public acknowledgment for their contributions. We believe in lifting others as we rise.
• We are small but mighty. Limited resources have taught us to be creative, efficient, and deeply committed.

Our Promise to the Community

RHF promises to:

• Always prioritize the safety and privacy of survivors.
• Use every donation and grant transparently and effectively.
• Treat every person—whether survivor, volunteer, or partner—with dignity and respect.
• Continuously learn, improve, and adapt to the real needs of our community.
• Never stop fighting for a world where every person is free, safe, and empowered.

A Snapshot of Our Work

Area of Work

What We Actually Do

Sexual Violence Survivor Support

Crisis counseling, medical referrals, legal aid, safe spaces

Human Trafficking & Modern Day Slavery

Rescue, rehabilitation, reintegration, community awareness

Girl Child Education

School fees, sanitary pads, mentorship, anti-child marriage campaigns

Vocational Skilling

Tailoring, baking, hairdressing, handicrafts, business skills

Farming

Training, seeds, tools, farming cooperatives

Solar Power

Solar home systems, phone charging businesses, installation training

Community Awareness

Radio shows, school outreach, community dialogues

Invitation to You

Whether you are a survivor seeking help, a volunteer offering time, a donor wanting to invest in real change, or a partner organization looking to collaborate, you are welcome at RHF. We are transparent about our struggles and honest about our successes. We do not claim to save everyone. But we do claim to show up, every day, for those who need us most.

Contact Us

Rape Hurts Foundation (RHF)

Kyabazinga Way 2nd Lane Plot 3 – Mpumudde Division, P.O.Box 19 Jinja Uganda

eMail: hellentanyinga@gmail.com Tel/Cel/Signal/Whatsapp: +256782796296

Website: https://rapehurtsfoundation.org/

Social Media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rapehurtsfoundation/ https://www.facebook.com/RapeHurtsFoundation