[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 6444-6445]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 77--SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF 
      NATIONAL SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS AND PREVENTION MONTH 2008

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

                            S. Con. Res. 77

       Whereas, on average, a person is sexually assaulted in the 
     United States every 2\1/2\ minutes;
       Whereas the Department of Justice reports that 191,670 
     people in the United States were sexually assaulted in 2005;
       Whereas 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men have been victims of 
     rape or attempted rape;
       Whereas the Department of Defense received 2,688 reports of 
     sexual assault involving members of the Armed Forces in 
     fiscal year 2007;
       Whereas children and young adults are most at risk of 
     sexual assault, as 44 percent of sexual assault victims are 
     under the age of 18, and 80 percent are under the age of 30;
       Whereas sexual assault affects women, men, and children of 
     all racial, social, religious, age, ethnic, and economic 
     groups in the United States;
       Whereas only 41 percent of sexual assault victims pursue 
     prosecution by reporting their attacks 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 prevention education programs carried out by rape 
     crisis and women's health centers have the potential to 
     reduce the prevalence of sexual assault in their communities;
       Whereas, because of recent advances in DNA technology, law 
     enforcement agencies now have the potential to identify the 
     rapists in tens of thousands of unsolved rape cases;
       Whereas aggressive prosecution can incarcerate rapists and 
     therefore prevent them from committing further crimes;
       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; and
       Whereas April is recognized as ``National Sexual Assault 
     Awareness and Prevention Month'': Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That--
       (1) it is the sense of Congress 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 its 
     survivors, and the prosecution of its perpetrators;
       (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 its survivors, and increasing 
     the number of successful prosecutions of its perpetrators;
       (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) Congress 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) Congress supports the goals and ideals of National 
     Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month 2008.

  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about a resolution 
Senator Specter and I have introduced supporting the goals and ideals 
of National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, which occurs 
this month of April.
  In the U.S. a person is sexually assaulted on average every two and a 
half minutes. One in six women and one in 33 men have been victims of 
rape or attempted rape. According to the Department of Justice, 191,670 
people in the United States were sexually assaulted in 2005. These are 
disturbing statistics.
  National Sexual Awareness and Prevention Month serves many valuable 
purposes. It provides a special opportunity to educate people about 
sexual violence and increase public awareness about the impact of this 
crime that changes many lives forever and sometimes irrevocably.
  It pays tribute to the many survivors of sexual violence and honors 
their compassionate efforts to help others in the face of their own 
anguish. Many courageous individuals, themselves survivors of sexual 
assault, rise above their own suffering to help assuage the pain of 
others and assist in the prevention of sexual assault.
  This resolution also recognizes and applauds the work of community 
organizations and other supporters who help survivors and promote 
prevention and awareness. These are important and vital services in the 
lives not only of those who have been assaulted but all of us. 
Increasing public awareness helps in the fight to prevent sexual 
assault and reduce the number of people who are sexually assaulted, 
saving those individuals from the nightmare others know all too well.
  Sexual violence is a crime we must all work to eradicate. While women 
comprise the majority of victims, this crime is perpetrated against 
women, children, and men. It is my goal that this resolution helps us 
to understand our role in assisting these individuals and preventing 
this crime from happening in the future.
  I ask all my colleagues to support this important resolution and 
encourage communities across our country to pay tribute to all those 
whose lives have been touched by sexual assault and those who have 
dedicated their lives to work to end it.

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