[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 60 (Tuesday, April 27, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2712-S2713]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the
Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 501, submitted
earlier today.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 501) recognizing and supporting the
goals and ideals of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution.
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed
to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon
the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements be
printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution (S. Res. 501) was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:
[[Page S2713]]
S. Res. 501
Whereas on average, a person is sexually assaulted in the
United States every 2\1/2\ minutes;
Whereas the Department of Justice reports that 203,830
people in the United States were sexually assaulted in 2008;
Whereas 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men have been victims of
rape or attempted rape;
Whereas the Department of Defense received 2,908 reports of
sexual assault involving members of the Armed Forces in
fiscal year 2008, representing an 8 percent increase from
fiscal year 2007;
Whereas children and young adults are most at risk of
sexual assault, as 44 percent of sexual assault victims are
under 18 years of age, and 80 percent are under the 30 years
of age;
Whereas sexual assault affects women, men, and children of
all racial, social, religious, age, ethnic, and economic
groups in the United States;
Whereas women, children, and men suffer multiple types of
sexual violence, including acquaintance, stranger, spousal,
and gang rape, incest, child sexual molestation, forced
prostitution, trafficking, forced pornography, ritual abuse,
sexual harassment, and stalking;
Whereas it is estimated that the percentage of completed or
attempt rape victimization among women in institutions of
higher education is between 20 and 25 percent over the course
of a college career;
Whereas, in addition to the immediate physical and
emotional costs, sexual assault has associated consequences
that may include post-traumatic stress disorder, substance
abuse, major depression, homelessness, eating disorders, and
suicide;
Whereas only 41 percent of sexual assault victims pursue
prosecution by reporting their attack to law enforcement
agencies;
Whereas \2/3\ of sexual crimes are committed by persons who
are not strangers to the victims;
Whereas sexual assault survivors suffer emotional scars
long after the physical scars have healed;
Whereas, because of advances in DNA technology, law
enforcement agencies have the potential to identify the
rapists in tens of thousands of unsolved rape cases;
Whereas aggressive prosecution can lead to the
incarceration of rapists and therefore prevent these
individuals from committing further crimes;
Whereas national, State, territory, and tribal coalitions,
community-based rape crisis centers, and other organizations
across the Nation are committed to increasing public
awareness of sexual violence and its prevalence, and to
eliminating it 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 free, confidential help is available to all
survivors of sexual assault through the National Sexual
Assault Hotline, more than 1,000 rape crisis centers across
the United States, and other organizations that provide
services to assist survivors of sexual assault;
Whereas, according to a 2010 survey of rape crisis centers
by the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, 72 percent
of programs have experienced a reduction in funding over the
past year, 56 percent have experienced a reduction in
staffing, 23 percent have a waiting list for services, and
funding and staffing cuts have resulted in an overall 50
percent reduction in the provision of institutional advocacy
services;
Whereas individual and collective efforts reflect the dream
of the people of the United States for a nation where
citizens and organizations actively work to prevent all forms
of sexual violence and no sexual assault victim goes unserved
or ever feels there is no path to justice; and
Whereas April 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 educate the people of the
United States about sexual violence and to encourage the
prevention of sexual assault, the improved treatment of
survivors of sexual assault, and the prosecution of
perpetrators of sexual assault;
(B) it is appropriate to properly acknowledge the more than
20,000,000 men and women who have survived sexual assault in
the United States and salute the efforts of survivors,
volunteers, and professionals who combat sexual assault;
(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 increase the
percentage of sexual assault cases that result in the
prosecution and incarceration of the offenders;
(2) the Senate strongly recommends that national and
community organizations, businesses in the private sector,
colleges and universities, and the media promote, through
National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month,
awareness of sexual violence and strategies to decrease the
incidence of sexual assault; and
(3) the Senate supports the goals and ideals of National
Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.
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