[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 452 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 452

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 28, 2016

   Mr. Grassley (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Ms. Ayotte, Mr. Casey, Mrs. 
    Ernst, Mrs. Gillibrand, and Mr. Heller) submitted the following 
             resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


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

Whereas on average, an individual is sexually assaulted in the United States 
        every 2 minutes, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National 
        Network;
Whereas nearly 80,000 rapes were reported to law enforcement in 2013, according 
        to the Department of Justice;
Whereas according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 1 in 
        5 women (or 18.3 percent) and 1 in 71 men (or 1.4 percent) surveyed in 
        the United States in 2010 experienced a rape or attempted rape at some 
        time in their lives;
Whereas sexual violence is also a burden for many individuals who serve the 
        United States, and the Department of Defense estimates that 
        approximately 19,000 members of the United States Armed Forces 
        experienced unwanted sexual contact in fiscal year 2014;
Whereas children and young adults are at significant risk of sexual assault, up 
        to 44 percent of sexual assault victims are under 18 years of age, and 
        up to 80 percent of sexual assault victims are under 30 years of age;
Whereas sexual assault affects women, men, and children of all racial, social, 
        religious, age, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups in the United States;
Whereas sexual violence may take many forms, including acquaintance, stranger, 
        spousal, and gang rape, incest, child sexual abuse, commercial sex 
        trafficking, sexual harassment, and stalking;
Whereas in addition to the immediate physical and emotional costs of sexual 
        assault, sexual assault has numerous adverse consequences, which can 
        include post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, major 
        depression, homelessness, eating disorders, and suicide, according to 
        the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence;
Whereas many sexual assaults are not reported to law enforcement agencies, which 
        enables many rapists to evade punishment for their crimes;
Whereas as many as \2/3\ of sexual crimes are committed by individuals who are 
        not strangers to the victims;
Whereas sexual assault survivors suffer emotional scars long after the physical 
        scars of the survivors have healed;
Whereas advances in DNA technology have enabled law enforcement agencies to 
        potentially identify and prosecute the perpetrators in tens of thousands 
        of unsolved rape cases;
Whereas prosecution can lead to the incarceration of rapists and prevent those 
        individuals from committing additional crimes;
Whereas national, State, territorial, and tribal coalitions, community-based 
        rape crisis centers, and other organizations across the United States 
        are committed to--

    (1) increasing public awareness of sexual violence and the prevalence 
of sexual violence; and

    (2) eliminating sexual violence 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 thousands of volunteers and staff at rape crisis centers, State 
        coalitions against sexual assault, and nonprofit organizations across 
        the United States play an important role in making crisis hotlines and 
        other services available to survivors of sexual assault;
Whereas free, confidential help is available to all victims and survivors of 
        sexual assault through--

    (1) the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800-656-HOPE and 
online.rainn.org); and

    (2) more than 1,000 sexual assault service providers across the United 
States;

Whereas the DoD Safe Helpline, Safe HelpRoom, and Safe Helpline mobile app each 
        provide support and help to members of the Department of Defense 
        community--

    (1) by telephone at 877-995-5247; and

    (2) online at SafeHelpline.org;

Whereas individual and collective efforts reflect the dream of the people of the 
        United States--

    (1) for individuals and organizations to actively work to prevent all 
forms of sexual violence; and

    (2) for no sexual assault victim to be unserved or feel that there is 
no path to justice; and

Whereas April 2016 is recognized as ``National Sexual Assault Awareness and 
        Prevention Month'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) it is the sense of the Senate 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, improvement in the treatment of survivors of 
                sexual assault, and the prosecution of perpetrators of 
                sexual assault;
                    (B) it is appropriate to properly acknowledge 
                survivors of sexual assault and to commend the 
                volunteers and professionals who assist those survivors 
                in their efforts to heal;
                    (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 
                survivors of sexual assault, and increasing the number 
                of successful prosecutions of perpetrators of sexual 
                assault; and
                    (D) public safety, law enforcement, and health 
                professionals should be recognized and applauded for 
                their hard work and innovative strategies to ensure 
                perpetrators of sexual assault are held accountable; 
                and
            (2) the Senate supports the goals and ideals of National 
        Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.
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