Viola Davis & Cheryl Saban Honored at 2016 Rape Foundation Brunch

Photo Credit: Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for the Rape Foundation

This year, the Rape Foundation honored Academy Award-nominated actress Viola Davis and philanthropist, jewelry designer, billionaire, advocate and author Cheryl Saban for their inspirational leadership and extraordinary impact at its 2016 brunch.

Davis, the star of ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder, said during her acceptance speech, “Myself, my mother, my sisters, my friend Rebecca, my friend from childhood, we all have one thing in common: We are all survivors of sexual assault in some way, shape or form.” Davis has been an advocate of the organization since 2010 and her connection is personal: her own sister was sexually assaulted as an 8-year-old.

The annual event benefits the Rape Treatment Center and Stuart House at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center which provides state-of-the-art care for rape victims and sexually abused children, and prevention education programs in our community and across the country, including 24-hour emergency medical treatment and forensic services, advocacy, professional counseling, and court accompaniment; prevention programs that reach 12,000 middle school, high school, and college students each year; professional training programs for police, prosecutors, victim advocates, medical care providers, and school personnel to enhance the treatment victims receive wherever they turn for help; and Stuart House—an innovative, internationally recognized model program created to serve the special needs of child victims. All of these services are free.

David Schwimmer MC’d the Sunday event, which was held at Ron Burkle’s Greenacres estate in Beverly Hills.

Guests at the daytime fete included Nina Dobrev (Vampire Diaries), Matt McGorry (How to Get Away with Murder), Aja Naomi King (How to Get Away with Murder), Karla Souza (How to Get Away with Murder), Alfred Enoch (How to Get Away with Murder), Jack Falahee (How to Get Away with Murder), Conrad Ricamora (How to Get Away with Murder), Charlie Weber (How to Get Away with Murder), Chadwick Boseman (Captain America: Civil War), KaDee Strickland (Secrets and Lies), AnnaLynne McCord (Secret and Lies), Steven Weber (Wings), Tamara Taylor (Bones), Jason Behr (The Grudge), as well as Mayor Eric Garcetti, Chief Charlie Beck and Sheriff Jim McDonnell.