[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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