[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 76 (Thursday, May 2, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3320-S3321]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 672--RECOGNIZING AND SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS 
       OF NATIONAL SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS AND PREVENTION MONTH

  Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Tillis, Ms. Cortez 
Masto, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Smith, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Wyden, 
Mr. Heinrich, Mrs. Murray, Ms. Ernst, Mr. Lujan, Mr. Fetterman, Ms. 
Collins, Ms. Klobuchar, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Whitehouse, 
Ms. Hirono, and Mr. Marshall) submitted the following resolution; which 
was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 672

       Whereas the Senate is committed to the awareness, 
     prevention, and deterrence of sexual violence affecting 
     individuals in the United States;
       Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and 
     Prevention, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 10 men experience sexual or 
     physical violence, or stalking, by an intimate partner;
       Whereas, according to the 2022 Child Maltreatment Report of 
     the Department of Health and Human Services, child protection 
     service agencies throughout the United States substantiated, 
     or found strong evidence to indicate, that 59,044 children 
     under 18 years of age were victims of sexual abuse that year;
       Whereas, according to the 2016/2017 National Intimate 
     Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 
     men who have experienced a completed or attempted rape 
     experienced it for the first time between the ages of 11 and 
     17;
       Whereas sexual violence is a burden for many individuals 
     who serve in the Armed Forces, and the Department of Defense 
     estimates that approximately 35,900 members of the Armed 
     Forces, including approximately 19,300 women and 16,600 men, 
     experienced some form of contact or penetrative sexual 
     assault during 2021;
       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--
       (1) acquaintance, stranger, spousal, and gang rape;
       (2) incest;
       (3) child sexual abuse;
       (4) elder sexual abuse;
       (5) sexual abuse and exploitation of underserved 
     communities;
       (6) commercial sex trafficking;
       (7) sexual harassment; and
       (8) stalking;
       Whereas studies have suggested that survivors of color face 
     unique challenges and more should be done to better 
     understand the impact of sexual violence on communities of 
     color;
       Whereas studies have suggested that the rate at which 
     American Indians and Alaska Natives experience sexual 
     violence is significantly higher than for other populations 
     in the United States;
       Whereas, according to the National Alliance to End Sexual 
     Violence, in addition to the immediate physical and emotional 
     costs, sexual assault has numerous adverse consequences, 
     which can include post-traumatic stress disorder, substance 
     abuse, major depression, homelessness, eating disorders, and 
     suicide;
       Whereas, according to a 2019 Centers for Disease Control 
     and Prevention survey, the average cost of rape is $122,461 
     for each victim over the lifetime of the victim, totaling a 
     $3,100,000,000,000 economic burden for survivors of rape in 
     the United States;
       Whereas, according to the 2022 National Crime Victimization 
     Survey, an average of only 21 percent of rapes or sexual 
     assaults in the United States were reported to law 
     enforcement agencies between 2021 and 2022;
       Whereas many sexual assaults are not reported to law 
     enforcement agencies, and

[[Page S3321]]

     many States have restrictive criminal statutes of 
     limitations, which enable many perpetrators to evade 
     punishment for their crimes;
       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;
       Whereas, according to a 2023 survey by the National 
     Alliance to End Sexual Violence, 48 percent of rape crisis 
     centers lack a therapist on staff, and 70 percent of programs 
     had an increased demand for services in the past year;
       Whereas national, State, territorial, and Tribal 
     coalitions, community-based rape crisis centers, culturally 
     specific sexual assault organizations, and other 
     organizations across the United States are committed to--
       (1) eliminating sexual violence through prevention and 
     education; and
       (2) increasing public awareness of sexual violence and the 
     prevalence of sexual violence;
       Whereas thousands of volunteers and staff at rape crisis 
     centers, State coalitions against sexual assault, culturally 
     specific sexual assault organizations, 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 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 victims 
     and survivors of sexual assault through--
       (1) the victim service programs of the Rape, Abuse & Incest 
     National Network (commonly known and referred to in this 
     preamble as ``RAINN''), including the National Sexual Assault 
     Hotline--
          (A) by telephone at 800-656-HOPE; and
          (B) online at https://hotline.rainn.org; and
       (2) more than 1,500 local rape crisis centers across the 
     United States;
       Whereas the victim service programs of RAINN, including the 
     National Sexual Assault Hotline, help more than 300,000 
     survivors and their loved ones each year on average;
       Whereas the Department of Defense provides the Safe 
     Helpline, Safe HelpRoom, and Safe Helpline mobile 
     application, each of which provide 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 2024 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--
       (i) to educate the people of the United States about sexual 
     violence; and
       (ii) to 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.

                          ____________________