[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 560 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 560

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 6, 2020

  Mrs. Feinstein (for herself, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Leahy, Ms. Ernst, Mrs. 
Murray, 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 National Crime Victimization Survey, between 2008 and 
        2018, approximately--

    (1) 3,434,326 women were victims of rape and sexual assault; and

    (2) 523,895 men were victims of rape and sexual assault;

Whereas, due to the unprecedented challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, 
        including mandatory stay-at-home orders, the needs of sexual assault 
        victims have become even more complex and challenging;
Whereas, according to a March 2020 survey by the National Alliance to End Sexual 
        Violence of more than 600 rape crisis programs, 89 percent of those 
        programs need emergency stimulus funding to respond to requests from 
        survivors for support and emergency assistance;
Whereas, according to the March 2020 survey, since the onset of the COVID-19 
        pandemic, 40 percent of the programs surveyed have experienced an 
        increased demand for services both in terms of new requests and more 
        dire and complicated requests from existing clients, including requests 
        relating to technology needs for virtual services and emergency needs of 
        vulnerable survivors;
Whereas, during the pandemic, many rape crisis centers have had to cancel 
        signature fundraisers and have experienced overall decreases in private 
        donations;
Whereas, according to the 2018 Child Maltreatment Report of the Department of 
        Health and Human Services, in 2018, child protective services agencies 
        substantiated or found strong evidence to indicate that 47,124 children 
        under 18 years of age were victims of sexual abuse;
Whereas, according to the National Crime Victimization Survey, between 2014 and 
        2018, an average of only 29 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, 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 
        20,500 members of the Armed Forces, including approximately 13,000 women 
        and 7,500 men, experienced some form of contact or penetrative sexual 
        assault during 2018;
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, 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, according to a 2019 survey of rape crisis centers by the National 
        Alliance to End Sexual Violence, \1/2\ of such centers have a waiting 
        list, in some cases months long, for counseling services, 44 percent 
        lack a therapist on staff, and 84 percent have experienced an increased 
        demand for services;
Whereas many sexual assaults are not reported to law enforcement agencies, and 
        many States have restrictive criminal statutes of limitations, which 
        enable many perpetrators to evade punishment for their crimes;
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 the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network 
        (commonly known as ``RAINN''), including the National Sexual Assault 
        Hotline--

    (1) in 2019, helped 304,275 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 
2020;

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 2020 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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