[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 507 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 507

Expressing support for the designation of September 2017 as ``National 
                Campus Sexual Assault Awareness Month''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 6, 2017

  Ms. Norton (for herself, Ms. Moore, Ms. Clarke of New York, and Ms. 
 Rosen) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing support for the designation of September 2017 as ``National 
                Campus Sexual Assault Awareness Month''.

Whereas colleges and universities are now receiving students for the academic 
        year;
Whereas 1 in 5 women is sexually assaulted in college, with little or no change 
        to this high rate annually;
Whereas freshmen and sophomores in college are at a greater risk of being 
        sexually assaulted than juniors or seniors;
Whereas 19 percent of college women and 6 percent of college men will be victims 
        of sexual assault over the course of their undergraduate careers;
Whereas 3 in 4 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) college students 
        have experienced sexual harassment and 9 percent of LGBT college 
        students have experienced sexual assault;
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that both middle 
        school and high school students are increasingly experiencing sexual 
        harassment, sexual assault, or sexual violence, with 30 percent of 
        female sexual assault victims reporting that they were first attacked 
        between the ages of 11 and 17;
Whereas many college students are victims of ``incapacitated assault'', in which 
        they are sexually assaulted while drugged, drunk, passed out, or 
        otherwise incapacitated;
Whereas these victims often know their attackers;
Whereas less than 5 percent of rapes and attempted rapes of college students are 
        reported to campus authorities or local law enforcement;
Whereas college sexual assault victims are likely to tell someone they know, 
        most often a friend, about their victimization experience;
Whereas 40 percent of college sexual assault survivors feared reprisal by the 
        perpetrator;
Whereas less than 5 percent of college men account for 90 to 95 percent of the 
        rapes on college campuses;
Whereas many college sexual assault victims fear poor treatment by campus or law 
        enforcement authorities, or even lack knowledge of the reporting 
        process;
Whereas approximately 8 percent of colleges and universities still do not allow 
        confidential reporting of sexual assaults to campus authorities;
Whereas 21 percent of colleges and universities provide no sexual assault 
        response training for members of their faculty and staff;
Whereas more than 30 percent of colleges and universities do not provide any 
        sexual assault training for students;
Whereas approximately 41 percent of colleges and universities have not conducted 
        a single sexual assault investigation in the last 5 years;
Whereas more than 90 percent of colleges and universities state that sexual 
        assault victims on their campuses have access to community victim 
        assistance and advocacy programs, yet only 51 percent of the colleges 
        and universities reported utilizing these services in their team 
        approach;
Whereas most colleges and universities fail to provide access to a specially 
        trained Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE);
Whereas law enforcement officials at 30 percent of colleges and universities 
        receive no training on how to respond to reports of sexual violence;
Whereas more than 70 percent of colleges and universities do not have protocols 
        regarding how the institution and local law enforcement should work 
        together to respond to sexual violence;
Whereas 33 percent of colleges and universities failed to provide training to 
        dispel ``rape myths'' to persons adjudicating sexual assault claims;
Whereas 43 percent of the Nation's largest colleges and universities have 
        students assisting in adjudicating sexual assault cases, which creates 
        privacy and conflict of interest concerns;
Whereas 22 percent of colleges and universities allow athletic department 
        oversight of sexual violence cases involving student athletes;
Whereas more than 10 percent of colleges and universities do not have a Title IX 
        coordinator, as required by Federal law;
Whereas many college sexual assault victims experience confusion over how to 
        report a sexual assault, confusion over acceptable standards of sexual 
        conduct and definitions of rape and sexual assault, and fear of 
        punishment for activities preceding some sexual assaults, such as 
        underage drinking;
Whereas only 16 percent of colleges and universities reported conducting 
        confidential climate surveys regarding behaviors that constitute or are 
        associated with sexual assault;
Whereas only 22 percent of colleges and universities provide sexual violence 
        training targeted at the Greek system and only 37 percent provide 
        training targeted at student athletes;
Whereas 21 percent of the Nation's largest private colleges and universities 
        reported not independently investigating all claims of sexual assault 
        that they conveyed to the Department of Education;
Whereas only 10 to 25 percent of the perpetrators of college sexual assaults 
        were permanently expelled;
Whereas only 10 percent of reported college rape cases result in criminal 
        charges against the defendant;
Whereas victims of campus sexual assaults are more likely to make changes in 
        their lives, such as changing a college major, changing campus housing, 
        dropping a class, and seeking psychological counseling, as a result of 
        the victimization;
Whereas over 90 percent of colleges and universities do not have an affirmative 
        consent policy regarding sexual relations; and
Whereas September 2017 is an appropriate month to designate as ``National Campus 
        Sexual Assault Awareness Month'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives supports the 
designation of ``National Campus Sexual Assault Awareness Month''.
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