[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 186 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 186

    Supporting the goals and ideals of Sexual Assault Awareness and 
                           Prevention Month.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 26, 2015

   Mr. Reed (for himself, Ms. Moore, Mr. Poe of Texas, Ms. Wasserman 
 Schultz, Mr. Marino, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Hanna, Ms. Norton, Mr. 
Gibson, Ms. Clark of Massachusetts, Mr. Rodney Davis of Illinois, Mrs. 
  Lawrence, Mr. Coffman, Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York, and Ms. 
 Speier) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Supporting the goals and ideals of Sexual Assault Awareness and 
                           Prevention Month.

Whereas on average, a person is sexually assaulted in the United States every 2 
        minutes;
Whereas, the Department of Justice reports that more than 200,000 people in the 
        United States are sexually assaulted each year;
Whereas children and young adults are most at risk of sexual assault, as 44 
        percent of victims of sexual assault 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, 
        and religious, age, ethnic, ability, sexual orientation, and economic 
        groups in the United States;
Whereas, according to the Department of Justice, all 18- to 24-year olds are at 
        significant risk of sexual assault, whether they are in college or not;
Whereas female college students in that age range are about 5 times more likely 
        to be sexually assaulted than the population at large, while non-
        students are about 6 times more likely;
Whereas for males 18-24, the risk is higher among college students: men make up 
        17 percent of all college student victims, and about 4 percent of non-
        student victims;
Whereas the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in its Uniform Crime Reports, 
        expanded its definition of rape to include sexual assault against males, 
        which assists in making reporting of this devastating crime more 
        accurate;
Whereas in addition to the immediate physical and emotional costs, sexual 
        assault has associated consequences that may include post-traumatic 
        stress disorder, substance abuse, depression, homelessness, eating 
        disorders, and suicide;
Whereas all forms of sexual violence are unacceptable, whether committed by a 
        stranger, family member, or acquaintance of the victim;
Whereas less than half of victims of sexual assault pursue prosecution by 
        reporting their attack to law enforcement;
Whereas by fully assessing the scope of the backlog of untested evidence in the 
        possession of law enforcement and crime labs and by using DNA technology 
        to eliminate the backlog, we have the potential to identify and 
        prosecute rapists in tens of thousands of unsolved cases;
Whereas aggressive prosecution can lead to the incarceration of rapists, who 
        tend to be serial criminals who methodically select their victims and 
        plan their crimes, thereby preventing them from committing additional 
        crimes;
Whereas national, State, territory, and tribal coalitions, community-based 
        sexual assault service providers, law enforcement agencies and other 
        organizations across the United States are committed to increasing 
        public awareness of sexual violence and its prevalence, and to 
        eliminating it through improvements to the criminal justice system and 
        programs to prevent crime and educate the public;
Whereas important partnerships have formed among criminal justice and juvenile 
        justice agencies, health professionals, public health workers, 
        educators, first responders, and victim service providers;
Whereas according to a 2014 survey of rape crisis centers by the National 
        Alliance to End Sexual Violence, more than one-third of rape crisis 
        centers have a waiting list for services, over 40 percent of rape crisis 
        centers were forced to reduce staffing because of funding levels, more 
        than one-fourth of rape crisis centers had to decrease the number of 
        prevention education services due to insufficient funding, and of those 
        rape crisis centers that made staffing reductions, an average of 3 
        positions were terminated or left vacant;
Whereas free, confidential help is available to all victims and survivors of 
        sexual assault through the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800-565-
        HOPE) and National Sexual Assault Online Hotline (online.rainn.org), and 
        more than 1,000 sexual assault service providers across the Nation;
Whereas the Department of Defense (DOD) estimates that approximately 19,000 
        servicemembers experienced unwanted sexual conduct last year;
Whereas the DOD Safe Helpline, Safe HelpRoom, and Safe Helpline mobile app 
        provide support and help to active duty service members and other 
        members of the DOD community worldwide by phone (877-995-5247) and 
        online at SafeHelpline.org, as well as installation-based referrals via 
        texting;
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 victim of sexual assault goes unserved, and no 
        perpetrator of this crime goes unpunished; 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 victims, 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 to 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 its perpetrators;
            (2) the House of Representatives--
                    (A) strongly recommends national and community-
                based organizations, businesses in the private sector, 
                colleges and universities, and the media promote, 
                through National Sexual Assault Awareness and 
                Prevention Month, awareness of sexual violence, 
                resources for its survivors and their friends and 
                family members, and strategies to decrease the 
                incidence of sexual assault; and
                    (B) supports the goals and ideals of National 
                Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.
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