[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1259 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1259

   Recognizing and supporting the goals and ideals of Sexual Assault 
                            Awareness Month.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 15, 2010

Ms. Baldwin (for herself, Mr. Poe of Texas, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Ms. 
 Moore of Wisconsin, Ms. Herseth Sandlin, Mr. Costa, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. 
Ryan of Ohio, Ms. Tsongas, Mr. Kind, Ms. Richardson, Mr. Delahunt, Mr. 
    McNerney, Ms. Kilroy, and Ms. Giffords) submitted the following 
    resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Recognizing and supporting the goals and ideals of Sexual Assault 
                            Awareness Month.

Whereas, on average, a person is sexually assaulted in the United States every 
        2\1/2\ minutes;
Whereas the Department of Justice reports that 203,830 people in the United 
        States were sexually assaulted in 2008;
Whereas 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men have been victims of rape or attempted 
        rape;
Whereas the Department of Defense received 2,908 reports of sexual assault 
        involving members of the Armed Forces in fiscal year 2008, representing 
        an eight percent increase from fiscal 2007;
Whereas children and young adults are most at risk of sexual assault, as 44 
        percent of sexual assault victims are under the age of 18, and 80 
        percent are under the age of 30;
Whereas sexual assault affects women, men, and children of all racial, social, 
        religious, age, ethnic, ability, and economic groups in the United 
        States;
Whereas women, children, and men suffer multiple types of sexual violence, 
        including but not limited to acquaintance, stranger, spousal, and gang 
        rape, incest, child sexual molestation, forced prostitution, 
        trafficking, forced pornography, ritual abuse, sexual harassment, and 
        stalking;
Whereas it is estimated that the percentage of completed or attempt rape 
        victimization among women in higher educational institutions may be 
        between 20 and 25 percent over the course of a college career;
Whereas, in addition to the immediate physical and emotional costs, sexual 
        assault has associated consequences that may include post-traumatic 
        stress disorder, substance abuse, major depression, homelessness, eating 
        disorders, and suicide, among others;
Whereas only 41 percent of sexual assault victims pursue prosecution by 
        reporting their attack to law enforcement agencies;
Whereas two-thirds of sexual crimes are committed by persons who are not 
        strangers to the victims;
Whereas sexual assault survivors suffer emotional scars long after the physical 
        scars have healed;
Whereas, with recent advances in DNA technology, law enforcement agencies have 
        the potential to identify the rapists in tens of thousands of unsolved 
        rape cases;
Whereas aggressive prosecution can lead to the incarceration of rapists and 
        therefore prevent them from committing further crimes;
Whereas national, State, territory, and tribal coalitions, community-based rape 
        crisis centers, and other organizations across the Nation are committed 
        to increasing public awareness of sexual violence and its prevalence, 
        and to eliminating it through prevention and education;
Whereas important partnerships have been formed among criminal and juvenile 
        justice agencies, health professionals, public health workers, 
        educators, first responders, and victim service providers;
Whereas free, confidential help is available to all survivors of sexual assault 
        through the National Sexual Assault Hotline, more than 1,000 rape crisis 
        centers across the United States, and other organizations that provide 
        services to assist survivors of sexual assault;
Whereas, according to a 2010 survey of rape crisis centers by the National 
        Alliance to End Sexual Violence, 72 percent of programs have experienced 
        a reduction in funding over the past year, 56 percent have experienced a 
        reduction in staffing, 23 percent currently have a waiting list for 
        services, and funding and staffing cuts have resulted in an overall 50 
        percent reduction in the provision of institutional advocacy services;
Whereas individual and collective efforts reflect our dream for a Nation where 
        citizens and organizations actively work to prevent all forms of sexual 
        violence and no sexual assault victim goes unserved or ever feels there 
        is no path to justice; and
Whereas April is recognized as ``National Sexual Assault Awareness and 
        Prevention Month'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that--
                    (A) National Sexual Assault Awareness and 
                Prevention Month provides a special opportunity to 
                educate the people of the United States about sexual 
                violence and to encourage the prevention of sexual 
                assault, the improved treatment of its survivors, and 
                the prosecution of its perpetrators;
                    (B) it is appropriate to properly acknowledge the 
                more than 20 million men and women who have survived 
                sexual assault in the United States and salute the 
                efforts of survivors, volunteers, and professionals who 
                combat sexual assault;
                    (C) national and community organizations and 
                private sector supporters should be recognized and 
                applauded for their work in promoting awareness about 
                sexual assault, providing information and treatment to 
                its survivors, and increasing the number of successful 
                prosecutions of its perpetrators; and
                    (D) public safety, law enforcement, and health 
                professionals should be recognized and applauded for 
                their hard work and innovative strategies to increase 
                the percentage of sexual assault cases that result in 
                the prosecution and incarceration of the offenders;
            (2) the House of Representatives strongly recommends 
        national and community organizations, businesses in the private 
        sector, colleges and universities, and the media to promote, 
        through National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, 
        awareness of sexual violence and strategies to decrease the 
        incidence of sexual assault; and
            (3) the House of Representatives supports the goals and 
        ideals of National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention 
        Month.
                                 <all>