[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 178 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 178

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 30, 2019

Mrs. Feinstein (for herself, Ms. Ernst, and Mr. Grassley) submitted the 
   following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


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

Whereas the Senate is committed to the awareness, prevention, and deterrence of 
        sexual violence affecting individuals in the United States;
Whereas, according to the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and 
        Human Services, an estimated 399,861 individuals, including victims 
        under 18 years of age, in the United States experienced sexual violence 
        during 2017;
Whereas, according to the National Crime Victimization Survey, between 2007 and 
        2017, approximately--

    (1) 3,018,600 women were victims of rape and sexual assault; and

    (2) 453,200 men were victims of rape and sexual assault;

Whereas, according to the 2017 Child Maltreatment Report of the Department of 
        Health and Human Services, in 2017, child protective services agencies 
        substantiated 58,114 cases of sexual abuse of children under 18 years of 
        age;
Whereas, in fiscal year 2018, the Department of Justice reported 9,100 State and 
        local arrests of individuals charged with online sexual victimization of 
        children under 18 years of age;
Whereas, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (commonly known 
        as ``RAINN''), an individual is sexually assaulted every 92 seconds in 
        the United States, but for every 1,000 rapes committed in the United 
        States, on average only--

    (1) 330 rapes are reported to law enforcement agencies;

    (2) 59 reported rape cases lead to an arrest;

    (3) 10 rape cases are referred for prosecution;

    (4) 6 rape cases lead to a felony conviction; and

    (5) 5 convicted rapists are sentenced to some form of incarceration;

Whereas, according to the National Crime Victimization Survey, between 2013 and 
        2017, an average of only 33 percent of rapes or sexual assaults in the 
        United States were reported to law enforcement agencies;
Whereas studies have suggested that the rate at which American Indians and 
        Alaska Natives experience sexual violence is significantly higher than 
        for other populations in the United States;
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, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 
        \1/2\ of all female rape victims reported being raped by an intimate 
        partner;
Whereas sexual violence is a burden for many individuals who serve in the Armed 
        Forces, and the Department of Defense estimates that approximately 
        14,900 members of the Armed Forces experienced some form of sexual 
        assault during 2016;
Whereas sexual assault does not discriminate on any basis and can affect any 
        individual in the United States;
Whereas sexual violence may take many forms, including acquaintance, stranger, 
        spousal, and gang rape, incest, child sexual abuse, child sexual 
        exploitation, elder sexual abuse, sexual abuse and exploitation of 
        disabled persons, commercial sex trafficking, sexual harassment, and 
        stalking;
Whereas, according to the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, in addition 
        to immediate physical and emotional costs, sexual assault can have 
        numerous adverse consequences for the victim, which may include post-
        traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, major depression, 
        homelessness, eating disorders, and suicide;
Whereas many sexual assaults are not reported to law enforcement agencies, and 
        many States have restrictive criminal statutes of limitations, which 
        enable many rapists to evade punishment for their crimes;
Whereas sexual assault survivors suffer emotional complications long after their 
        physical scars have healed;
Whereas advances in deoxyribonucleic acid (commonly known as ``DNA'') technology 
        have enabled law enforcement agencies to identify and prosecute the 
        perpetrators in tens of thousands of previously unsolved sexual assault 
        cases;
Whereas incarceration of sexual assault perpetrators can prevent perpetrators 
        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--

    G    (A) by telephone at 800-656-HOPE; and

    G    (B) online at https://hotline.rainn.org; and

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

Whereas the victim service programs of RAINN, including the National Sexual 
        Assault Hotline--

    (1) in 2018, helped 267,621 survivors of sexual assault and their loved 
ones, which represented the greatest number of people assisted since the 
founding of the hotline in 1994; and

    (2) continue to receive a record number of requests for support in 
2019;

Whereas the Department of Defense provides the Safe Helpline hotline, Safe 
        HelpRoom online chat service, and Safe Helpline mobile application, each 
        of which offer support and help to members of the Department of Defense 
        community--

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

    (2) online at https://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 victim of sexual assault to be unserved or feel that there 
is no path to justice; and

Whereas April 2019 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--
                            (i) educate the people of the United States 
                        about sexual violence; and
                            (ii) encourage--
                                    (I) the prevention of sexual 
                                assault;
                                    (II) improvement in the treatment 
                                of survivors of sexual assault; and
                                    (III) 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--
                            (i) promoting awareness about sexual 
                        assault;
                            (ii) providing information and treatment to 
                        survivors of sexual assault; and
                            (iii) 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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