[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 358 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 358
Recognizing and supporting the goals and ideals of ``National Sexual
Assault Awareness and Prevention Month''.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 28, 2021
Ms. Speier (for herself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mrs.
Lawrence, Mr. Foster, Mrs. Wagner, Mr. Joyce of Ohio, Mrs. Dingell, Ms.
Craig, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Sires, Mr. Lawson of Florida, Mr.
Costa, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Swalwell, Ms. Norton, Mr. Carson, Ms. Kuster,
and Mr. Emmer) 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 House of Representatives is committed to the awareness, prevention,
and deterrence of sexual violence affecting Americans;
Whereas according to academic research, an individual is sexually assaulted
every 68 seconds in the United States, but for every 1,000 rapes
committed, on average only--
(1) 310 rapes are reported to law enforcement;
(2) 49 reported rape cases lead to an arrest;
(3) 28 rape cases lead to a felony conviction; and
(4) 25 convicted rapists are sentenced to some form of incarceration;
Whereas on average, in the last 5 years 463,632 Americans aged 12 and over
experienced sexual violence, according to the Department of Justice;
Whereas nearly 1 in 5 women, or 21.3 percent, and 1 in 38 men, or 2.6 percent,
surveyed in the United States in 2015 experienced a rape or attempted
rape at some time in their lives, according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention;
Whereas sexual violence is a burden for many individuals who serve in the United
States Armed Forces, and the Department of Defense estimates that in
2018, approximately 20,500 servicemembers experienced some form of
sexual assault;
Whereas children and young adults are at significant risk of sexual assault, as
up to 44 percent of sexual assault victims are under 18 years of age,
and the majority of sexual assault victims are under 30 years of age;
Whereas according to the Child Maltreatment Survey of 2019, child protective
services agencies substantiated, or found strong evidence to indicate,
that 60,927 children under 18 years of age were victims of sexual abuse;
Whereas sexual assault affects women, men, and children of all racial, social,
religious, age, ethnic, national origin, 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, elder sexual abuse,
sexual abuse and exploitation of disabled persons and members of the
LGBTQ communities, commercial sex trafficking, sexual harassment, and
stalking;
Whereas according to a 2010 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey,
approximately 1 in 8 lesbian women (13 percent), nearly half of bisexual
women (46 percent), and 1 in 6 heterosexual women (17 percent) have been
raped in their lifetimes, and this translates to an estimated 214,000
lesbian women, 1,500,000 bisexual women, and 19,000,000 heterosexual
women;
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, and
many States have restrictive criminal statutes of limitations, which
enable many rapists to evade prosecution for their crimes;
Whereas approximately 68 percent of sexual crimes are committed by individuals
who are known to the victim;
Whereas sexual assault survivors suffer emotional scars long after the physical
scars have healed;
Whereas DNA technology has enabled perpetrators to be identified and prosecuted
in many rape cases;
Whereas national, State, territorial, and Tribal coalitions, community-based
rape crisis centers, and other organizations across the United States
are committed to--
(1) serving survivors of sexual violence;
(2) eliminating sexual violence through prevention and education; and
(3) increasing public awareness of sexual violence and the prevalence
of sexual violence;
Whereas according to the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, at least 62
percent of rape crisis centers have a waiting list for counseling
services and rely on Federal, State, and local funding sources to
provide services to survivors and prevention activities in their
communities;
Whereas student survivors in K-12 and postsecondary education need access to
accommodations and support, and schools have a responsibility to respond
to and prevent sexual violence;
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 Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network's (RAINN) victim service
programs, including the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800-656-HOPE and
online.rainn.org), which helped a total of 60,437 people in May and June of
2020 alone, up 18 percent from the same period in 2019; and
(2) more than 1,000 sexual assault service providers across the United
States;
Whereas the Department of Defense 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) that individuals and organizations 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;
Whereas in the last year the powerful stories of sexual assault survivors have
brought attention to the importance of addressing sexual violence to the
forefront of our society; and
Whereas April 2021 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 sexual assault prevention
programs, to improve the treatment of and services to
survivors of sexual assault, and to increase the
prosecution of perpetrators;
(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 House of Representatives supports the goals and
ideals of ``National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention
Month''.
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