[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 222 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 222

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 18, 2021

     Mrs. Feinstein (for herself, Mr. Grassley, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. 
 Blumenthal, Ms. Smith, Mr. Padilla, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr. Leahy, Mr. 
   Menendez, Ms. Hassan, Ms. Klobuchar, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Tillis, Mr. 
 Durbin, and Mr. Whitehouse) submitted the following resolution; which 
                      was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               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 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (referred 
        to in this preamble as the ``CDC''), 1 in 4 women and 1 in 10 men 
        experience sexual or physical violence and stalking by an intimate 
        partner;
Whereas, according to the 2019 Child Maltreatment Report of the Department of 
        Health and Human Services, child protection service agencies throughout 
        the United States substantiated, or found strong evidence to indicate 
        that, 60,927 children under 18 years of age were victims of sexual abuse 
        that year;
Whereas children and young adults are at significant risk of experiencing sexual 
        assault, as up to 69 percent of sexual assault victims are under 34 
        years of age;
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, due to the unprecedented challenges presented by the Coronavirus 
        Disease 2019 (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, 62 percent of rape crisis centers have a waiting list for 
        counseling services, 35 percent lack a therapist on staff, and 40 
        percent of programs have an increased demand for services since the 
        beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic;
Whereas the American Journal of Emergency Medicine reported a 10 to 30 percent 
        increase in reports of family violence since the beginning of the COVID-
        19 pandemic;
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 and members of the 
        LGBTQ community, commercial sex trafficking, sexual harassment, and 
        stalking;
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 a 2010 CDC survey, approximately 1 in 8 lesbian women (13 
        percent or 214,000), nearly half of all bisexual women (46 percent or 
        1,500,000), and 1 in 6 heterosexual women (17 percent or 19,000,000) 
        have been raped in their lifetime;
Whereas, according to the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, in addition 
        to the immediate physical and emotional costs, sexual assault has 
        numerous adverse consequences, which can include post-traumatic stress 
        disorder, substance abuse, major depression, homelessness, eating 
        disorders, and suicide;
Whereas, according to the National Crime Victimization Survey, an average of 
        only 34 percent of rapes or sexual assaults in the United States were 
        reported to law enforcement agencies;
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) eliminating sexual violence through prevention and education; and

    (2) increasing public awareness of sexual violence and the prevalence 
of 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 victim service programs of the Rape, Abuse & Incest National 
Network (commonly known and referred to in this preamble as ``RAINN''), 
including 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 1,500 sexual assault service providers across the United 
States;

Whereas the victim service programs of RAINN, including the National Sexual 
        Assault Hotline, helped a total of 60,437 victims receive help in May 
        and June of 2020, up 18 percent from the same time period in 2019;
Whereas the Department of Defense provides the Safe Helpline, Safe HelpRoom, and 
        Safe Helpline mobile application, each of which provide 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 2021 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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