[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 65 (Tuesday, April 5, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 19589-19591]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07275]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 65 / Tuesday, April 5, 2022 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 19589]]


                Proclamation 10361 of March 31, 2022

                
National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention 
                Month, 2022

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                I was raised to believe that one of the greatest sins 
                is the abuse of power--whether it is economic, 
                psychological, or physical. The cruel fact is that 
                people of every age, ability, race, sex, gender 
                identity, sexual orientation, national origin, 
                socioeconomic background, and religion suffer the pain 
                and trauma of the abuse of power that is sexual 
                assault. Sexual violence can occur anywhere--and 
                millions of assaults occur each year at the workplace, 
                in the home, at school, and online. These assaults are 
                an intolerable affront to our shared humanity. During 
                National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, 
                we renew our commitment to ensuring that every person 
                can live a life free from sexual violence. We continue 
                in our commitment to stand with survivors, hold 
                perpetrators accountable, and dismantle a culture that 
                is complicit in allowing sexual violence to continue.

                Sexual assault is also a public health crisis. 
                According to the Centers for Disease Control and 
                Prevention, nearly 1 in 5 women in America experiences 
                a rape or attempted rape, and nearly 44 percent of 
                women and about 25 percent of all men experience some 
                form of sexual violence in their lifetime. Tragically, 
                many of those assaulted are young, and research shows 
                that these assaults can have lifelong effects on health 
                and are linked to chronic illnesses. Too often, this 
                trauma is compounded by lost productivity, the 
                challenge of seeking accountability, and the ensuing 
                costs of medical and mental health care.

                My Administration is committed to supporting survivors 
                and alleviating the public health crisis of sexual 
                assault. That is why we included $450 million in the 
                American Rescue Plan to provide funding for domestic 
                violence and sexual assault services, including rape 
                crisis centers. We also included a historic commitment 
                to funding culturally-specific community-based 
                organizations to address the needs of survivors who 
                face systemic barriers to accessing support and 
                resources, including survivors of color, survivors with 
                disabilities, and LGBTQI+ survivors. My Administration 
                continues to fund innovative programs to support sexual 
                assault survivors in rural and remote communities.

                I am committed to addressing sexual violence wherever 
                it occurs. Last year, I issued an Executive Order 
                directing the Department of Education to review Title 
                IX regulations and other agency actions to ensure that 
                all students have an educational environment that is 
                free from discrimination on the basis of sex. Because 1 
                in 3 women under the age of 35 has experienced sexual 
                harassment online, I have made addressing online forms 
                of sexual violence, harassment, and abuse a priority, 
                and my Administration recently launched a new Global 
                Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online 
                Harassment and Abuse.

                Sexual violence is also a matter of national security 
                and military readiness. To advance the goal of 
                eliminating sexual assault in our Armed Forces, I 
                signed the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, 
                which includes the historic shift of legal decisions in 
                cases of sexual assault from commanders to independent, 
                specialized military prosecutors. To implement the I Am

[[Page 19590]]

                Vanessa Guill[eacute]n Act, I also issued an Executive 
                Order to add sexual harassment as a specific offense 
                under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

                I was proud to support and sign into law the Ending 
                Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual 
                Harassment Act of 2021. This law advances efforts to 
                prevent and address sexual harassment and sexual 
                assault and promotes access to justice by guaranteeing 
                that people who have experienced sexual assault and 
                sexual harassment in the workplace are not forced into 
                binding arbitration and are instead allowed to choose 
                whether to go to court.

                Ending violence against women and eliminating sexual 
                assault has been a priority for me throughout my life. 
                It is why I wrote and championed the original Violence 
                Against Women Act (VAWA), a law that has transformed 
                how we respond to sexual assault and which I count as 
                one of my proudest legislative accomplishments. I am 
                proud to have recently signed into law the 
                reauthorization of VAWA, which expands prevention 
                efforts and protections for survivors of sexual assault 
                and other forms of gender-based violence. The law will 
                provide increased resources and training so that our 
                law enforcement and our judicial systems are better 
                able to appropriately handle these cases. It includes a 
                new focus on addressing technology-facilitated abuse 
                and establishes a Federal civil cause of action for 
                victims of non-consensual distribution of intimate 
                images. The Act will strengthen rape prevention and 
                education efforts, support rape crisis centers, improve 
                the training of sexual assault forensic examiners, 
                reduce the backlog of untested DNA kits, and broaden 
                access to legal services for all survivors. It will 
                also expand recognition of the special criminal 
                jurisdiction of Tribal courts to cover non-Native 
                perpetrators of sexual assault, sex trafficking, child 
                abuse, and stalking.

                This month, we honor the bravery and leadership of 
                survivors by rededicating ourselves to eliminating 
                sexual violence. It will require care and commitment 
                from each of us to realize an America where everyone is 
                free from the threat and impact of sexual violence.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of 
                the United States of America, by virtue of the 
                authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of 
                the United States, do hereby proclaim April 2022 as 
                National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. 
                I urge all Americans to support sexual assault 
                survivors including when survivors reach out and 
                disclose abuse.

[[Page 19591]]

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

[FR Doc. 2022-07275
Filed 4-4-22; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F2-P