[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 58 (Thursday, April 25, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3046-S3047]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 117--RECOGNIZING AND SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS 
       OF NATIONAL SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS AND PREVENTION MONTH

  Mr. CASEY (for himself and Mr. Franken) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 117

       Whereas, on average, a person is sexually assaulted in the 
     United States every 2 minutes;
       Whereas the Department of Justice reports that more than 
     200,000 people in the United States are sexually assaulted 
     each year;
       Whereas nearly 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men have been 
     victims of rape at some point in their lives;
       Whereas the Department of Defense received 3,158 reports of 
     sexual assault involving members of the Armed Forces in 
     fiscal year 2010;
       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 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, men, and children 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 
     attempted 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 two-thirds 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 those 
     individuals from committing further crimes;
       Whereas national, State, territory, and tribal coalitions, 
     community-based rape crisis centers, and other organizations 
     across the United States are committed to increasing public 
     awareness of sexual violence and its prevalence, and to 
     eliminating sexual violence 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

[[Page S3047]]

     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 2011 survey of rape crisis centers 
     by the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, 50 percent 
     of the rape crisis centers have experienced a reduction in 
     staffing, 65 percent of the rape crisis centers have a 
     waiting list for services, and funding and staffing cuts have 
     resulted in 67 percent of the rape crisis centers having to 
     reduce the amount of hours they spend dedicated to prevention 
     and awareness;
       Whereas individual and collective efforts reflect the dream 
     of the people of the United States for a country where 
     individuals and organizations actively work to prevent all 
     forms of sexual violence and no sexual assault victim goes 
     unserved or ever feels that 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, 
     institutions of higher education, 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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