[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1426 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1426

 Expressing support for the designation of September 2024 as National 
                 Campus Sexual Assault Awareness Month.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 6, 2024

 Ms. Norton submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
             the Committee on Oversight and Accountability

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                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing support for the designation of September 2024 as National 
                 Campus Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Whereas colleges are now receiving students in person for the academic year;
Whereas freshmen and sophomores in college are at a greater risk of being 
        sexually assaulted than juniors or seniors;
Whereas college students are at a higher risk of sexual assault during the first 
        few months of school, with more than 50 percent of college sexual 
        assaults occurring in either August, September, October, or November;
Whereas many college students are survivors of ``incapacitated assault'', in 
        which they are sexually assaulted while drugged, drunk, passed out, or 
        otherwise incapacitated;
Whereas these survivors often know their attackers;
Whereas less than 12 percent of rapes and attempted rapes of college students 
        are reported to campus authorities or local law enforcement;
Whereas college sexual assault survivors are likely to tell someone they know, 
        most often a friend, about their experience;
Whereas over 25 percent of college sexual assault survivors fear reprisal by the 
        perpetrator;
Whereas, approximately 5 percent of college men account for 90 to 95 percent of 
        the rapes on college campuses;
Whereas many college sexual assault survivors fear poor treatment by campus or 
        law enforcement authorities, or even lack knowledge of the reporting 
        process;
Whereas, approximately 10 percent of colleges still do not allow confidential 
        reporting of sexual assaults to campus authorities;
Whereas 22 percent of colleges provide no sexual assault response training for 
        members of their faculty and staff;
Whereas, approximately 41 percent of colleges have not conducted a single sexual 
        assault investigation in the last 5 years;
Whereas most colleges fail to provide access to a specially trained Sexual 
        Assault Nurse Examiner;
Whereas law enforcement officials at 30 percent of colleges receive no training 
        on how to respond to reports of sexual violence;
Whereas more than 70 percent of colleges do not have protocols regarding how the 
        institution and local law enforcement should work together to respond to 
        sexual violence;
Whereas 33 percent of colleges fail to provide training to dispel ``rape myths'' 
        to persons adjudicating sexual assault claims;
Whereas 43 percent of the Nation's largest colleges have students assisting in 
        adjudicating sexual assault cases, which creates privacy and conflict-
        of-interest concerns;
Whereas 22 percent of colleges allow athletic department oversight of sexual 
        violence cases involving student athletes;
Whereas many college sexual assault survivors experience confusion over how to 
        report a sexual assault, are unsure of acceptable standards of sexual 
        conduct and definitions of rape and sexual assault, and fear punishment 
        for activities preceding some sexual assaults, such as underage 
        drinking;
Whereas 21 percent of the Nation's largest private colleges report not 
        independently investigating all claims of sexual assault that they 
        conveyed to the Department of Education;
Whereas only approximately 5 percent of the perpetrators of college sexual 
        assaults are permanently expelled;
Whereas, approximately 10 percent of reported college rape cases result in 
        criminal charges against the alleged perpetrator;
Whereas survivors of campus sexual assaults are more likely to have their lives 
        disrupted, such as by changing a college major, changing campus housing, 
        and dropping a class, than the average student;
Whereas, approximately 7 States require colleges to adopt affirmative consent 
        policies; and
Whereas September 2024, when many students begin or return to college, is an 
        appropriate month to designate as National Campus Sexual Assault 
        Awareness Month: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives supports the 
designation of National Campus Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
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