[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 66 (Monday, April 6, 2020)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 19367-19368]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-07308]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 66 / Monday, April 6, 2020 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 19367]]


                Proclamation 10004 of March 31, 2020

                
National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention 
                Month, 2020

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                No person should ever have to endure the anguish and 
                indignity of sexual assault. This horrific crime 
                affects Americans of every age, ethnicity, and 
                socioeconomic status. During National Sexual Assault 
                Awareness and Prevention Month, we reaffirm our 
                commitment to supporting survivors of sexual assault, 
                encouraging strong criminal justice responses to these 
                crimes, and ending the scourge of sexual violence in 
                our homes and communities.

                Sexual assault is a particularly egregious and 
                dehumanizing form of violence. Even after physical 
                injuries of a sexual assault have healed, emotional and 
                mental trauma can persist. Survivors often struggle 
                with lingering anxiety, fear, anger, shame, and 
                depression. The devastating aftermath of sexual assault 
                can also harm a survivor's relationships with their 
                loved ones. My Administration has made combating sexual 
                assault a top priority.

                Last year, I signed an Executive Order establishing the 
                Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and 
                Alaska Natives to address unacceptable acts of violence 
                against Native Americans, particularly women and girls. 
                Too often, sexual assaults are committed in conjunction 
                with other forms of violence against women and girls in 
                Indian Country. This Task Force is enhancing 
                collaboration across the Federal Government to improve 
                the ability of law enforcement and prosecutors to 
                respond to new and unsolved cases in these communities 
                and to ensure they receive vital health and human 
                services. In addition, the Office on Violence Against 
                Women and the Office for Victims of Crime within the 
                Department of Justice (DOJ) are spearheading an 
                initiative to ensure that sexual assault victims in 
                Native and Tribal communities have access to high-
                quality medical care from trained Sexual Assault 
                Forensic Examiners and other services they may need to 
                heal and achieve justice.

                DOJ is also providing grant funding to facilitate the 
                analysis of thousands of sexual assault kits in crime 
                laboratories across our Nation to identify criminals. 
                The Department is also making sure that law enforcement 
                officers, prosecutors, and victim advocates have the 
                resources they need to support victims and bring 
                offenders to justice. Further, DOJ and the Department 
                of Health and Human Services have identified best 
                practices in the collection and preservation of 
                forensic evidence, as well as in the care and treatment 
                of survivors of sexual assault.

                Human trafficking has become rampant throughout the 
                world, and often includes sexual assault. In 2019 
                alone, the National Human Trafficking Hotline received 
                reports of nearly 12,000 cases of potential human 
                trafficking in the United States, identifying more than 
                25,000 victims. More than 65 percent of these cases 
                referenced women, and more than one in five referenced 
                children. My Administration will use every tool at our 
                disposal to dismantle this global problem, deliver 
                justice, and ensure the safety and well-being of the 
                survivors. That is why I signed an Executive Order on 
                Combating Human Trafficking and Online Child 
                Exploitation in the United States, which prioritizes 
                the Federal Government's resources to prosecute 
                offenders, assist victims, and provide prevention 
                education to combat human

[[Page 19368]]

                trafficking and online sexual exploitation of children. 
                I also signed into law legislation authorizing $430 
                million to fight sex and labor trafficking, and my 
                fiscal year 2021 budget request to Congress seeks an 
                increase of $42.5 million to address human trafficking. 
                And importantly, we are holding these foreign 
                governments that fail to address human trafficking to 
                account by imposing restrictions on foreign assistance.

                This month, we pause to recognize the devastation 
                caused by sexual assault and to recommit ourselves to 
                eliminating this atrocious crime. We are grateful to 
                the professionals serving in healthcare, victim and 
                human services, law enforcement, and criminal justice 
                for their steadfast resolve against sexual assault 
                while also caring for and supporting survivors. As a 
                Nation, we stand with the courageous men, women, and 
                children who have survived sexual assault and pledge to 
                use every tool at our disposal to help prevent 
                Americans from ever enduring the trauma of sexual 
                assault.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim April 2020 as 
                National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. 
                I urge all Americans, families, law enforcement 
                personnel, healthcare providers, and community and 
                faith-based organizations to support survivors of 
                sexual assault and work together to prevent these 
                crimes in their communities.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                thirty-first day of March, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand twenty, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and forty-fourth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2020-07308
Filed 4-3-20; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F0-P