[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

[[Page 834]]

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.