    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 117, 108th Congress, 1st Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    117 STAT. 833

    Public Law 108-38
    108th Congress

    Joint Resolution

    Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to raising awareness and
    encouraging prevention of sexual assault in the United States and
    supporting the goals and ideals of National Sexual Assault Awareness and
    Prevention Month. [NOTE: June 26, 2003 -  [S.J. Res. 8]]

    Whereas, on average, another person is sexually assaulted in the United
    States every two minutes;
    Whereas, the Department of Justice reports that 248,000 people in the
    United States were sexually assaulted in 2001;
    Whereas, 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men have been victims of rape or
    attempted rape;
    Whereas, children and young adults are most at risk, 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, less than 40 percent of sexual assault victims pursue
    prosecution by reporting their attack to law enforcement agencies;
    Whereas, two-thirds of sexual crimes are committed by persons who are
    not strangers to the victims;
    Whereas, the rate of sexual assaults has decreased by half in the last
    decade;
    Whereas, because of recent advances in DNA technology, law enforcement
    agencies 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, sexual assault victims suffer emotional scars long after the
    physical scars have healed; and
    Whereas, free, confidential help is available to all victims 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 victims of sexual
    assault: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
    States of America in Congress assembled, 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 both the prevention of sexual assault and the
    prosecution of its perpetrators;
    (B) it is appropriate to salute the more than
    20,000,000 victims who have survived sexual assault in
    the United

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    117 STAT. 834

    States and the efforts of victims, 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 victims, and
    encouraging the increased prosecution and punishment of
    its perpetrators; and
    (D) police, forensic workers, and prosecutors 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 urges national and community organizations,
    businesses in the private sector, and the media to 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.

    Approved June 26, 2003.

    LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S.J. Res. 8:
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    HOUSE REPORTS: No. 108-113 (Comm. on the Judiciary).
    CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 149 (2003):
    Apr. 11, considered and passed Senate.
    June 10, considered and passed House.