[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 66 (Thursday, April 28, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2565-S2566]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 452--RECOGNIZING AND SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS 
       OF NATIONAL SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS AND PREVENTION MONTH

  Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Ms. Ayotte, Mr. Casey, Mrs. 
Ernst, Mrs. Gillibrand, and Mr. Heller) submitted the following 
resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 452

       Whereas on average, an individual is sexually assaulted in 
     the United States every 2 minutes, according to the Rape, 
     Abuse and Incest National Network;
       Whereas nearly 80,000 rapes were reported to law 
     enforcement in 2013, according to the Department of Justice;
       Whereas according to the Centers for Disease Control and 
     Prevention, nearly 1 in 5 women (or 18.3 percent) and 1 in 71 
     men (or 1.4 percent) surveyed in the United States in 2010 
     experienced a rape or attempted rape at some time in their 
     lives;
       Whereas sexual violence is also a burden for many 
     individuals who serve the United States, and the Department 
     of Defense estimates that approximately 19,000 members of the 
     United States Armed Forces experienced unwanted sexual 
     contact in fiscal year 2014;
       Whereas children and young adults are at significant risk 
     of sexual assault, up to 44 percent of sexual assault victims 
     are under 18 years of age, and up to 80 percent of sexual 
     assault victims are under 30 years of age;
       Whereas sexual assault affects women, men, and children of 
     all racial, social, religious, age, ethnic, 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, commercial sex trafficking, sexual harassment, 
     and stalking;
       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, which enables many rapists to evade 
     punishment for their crimes;
       Whereas as many as \2/3\ of sexual crimes are committed by 
     individuals who are not strangers to the victims;
       Whereas sexual assault survivors suffer emotional scars 
     long after the physical scars of the survivors have healed;
       Whereas advances in DNA technology have enabled law 
     enforcement agencies to potentially identify and prosecute 
     the perpetrators in tens of thousands of unsolved rape cases;
       Whereas prosecution can lead to the incarceration of 
     rapists and prevent those individuals 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) increasing public awareness of sexual violence and the 
     prevalence of sexual violence; and
       (2) 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 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 National Sexual Assault Hotline (800-656-HOPE and 
     online.rainn.org); and
       (2) more than 1,000 sexual assault service providers across 
     the United States;
       Whereas the DoD 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) for individuals and organizations to 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; and

[[Page S2566]]

       Whereas April 2016 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, improvement in the treatment of 
     survivors of sexual assault, and 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 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 Senate supports the goals and ideals of National 
     Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.

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