[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 68 (Thursday, April 26, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2496-S2497]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 499--RECOGNIZING AND SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS 
       OF NATIONAL SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS AND PREVENTION MONTH

  Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself and Mrs. Feinstein) submitted the following 
resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 499

       Whereas the Senate is committed to the awareness, 
     prevention, and deterrence of sexual violence affecting 
     individuals in the United States;
       Whereas, according to the Department of Justice, an 
     estimated 323,450 individuals ages 12 and older in the United 
     States experienced sexual violence during 2016;
       Whereas, according to the National Crime Victimization 
     Survey, between 1995 and 2010, approximately--
       (1) 3,900,000 women were victims of completed rape;
       (2) 1,100,00 women were victims of attempted rape; and
       (3) 584,800 men were victims of sexual assault;
       Whereas, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National 
     Network (commonly known as ``RAINN''), an individual is 
     sexually assaulted every 98 seconds in the United States, but 
     for every 1,000 rapes committed in the United States, on 
     average only--
       (1) 310 rapes are reported to law enforcement agencies;
       (2) 57 reported rape cases lead to an arrest;
       (3) 11 rape cases are referred for prosecution;
       (4) 7 rape cases lead to a felony conviction; and
       (5) 6 convicted rapists are sentenced to some form of 
     incarceration;
       Whereas, according to the Criminal Victimization Summary 
     for 2016 of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, only 22.9 
     percent of rapes or sexual assaults in the United States were 
     reported to law enforcement agencies;
       Whereas studies have suggested that American Indians and 
     Alaska Natives are at a significantly higher rate of violent 
     victimization than other individuals in the United States;
       Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and 
     Prevention, more than \1/2\ of all female rape victims 
     reported being raped by an intimate partner;
       Whereas sexual violence is a burden for many individuals 
     who serve in the United States Armed Forces, and the 
     Department of Defense estimates that approximately 14,900 
     service members experienced some form of sexual assault 
     during 2016;
       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, commercial sex trafficking, 
     sexual harassment, and stalking;
       Whereas, according to the National Alliance to End Sexual 
     Violence, in addition to the immediate physical and emotional 
     costs, sexual assault can have numerous adverse consequences 
     for the victim, which may include post-traumatic stress 
     disorder, substance abuse, major depression, homelessness, 
     eating disorders, and suicide;
       Whereas many sexual assaults are not reported to law 
     enforcement agencies, which enables many perpetrators to 
     evade punishment for their crimes;
       Whereas sexual assault survivors suffer emotional 
     complications long after their physical scars have healed;
       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;

[[Page S2497]]

       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--
          (A) by telephone at 800-656-HOPE; and
          (B) online at https://hotline.rainn.org; and
       (2) more than 1,000 sexual assault service providers across 
     the United States;
       Whereas the National Sexual Assault Hotline--
       (1) in 2017, helped nearly 210,000 survivors of sexual 
     assault, which represented the greatest number of survivors 
     assisted through the hotline since the founding of the 
     hotline in 1994; and
       (2) continues to receive record requests for support in 
     2018;
       Whereas the Department of Defense provides the Safe 
     Helpline, Safe HelpRoom, and Safe Helpline mobile 
     application, each of which offer 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 2018 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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