S.Res. 117 — Introduced in Senate

III 113th CONGRESS 1st Session S. RES. 117 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 25, 2013 Mr. Casey (for himself and Mr. Franken) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Recognizing and supporting the goals and ideals of National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. Whereas, on average, a person is sexually assaulted in the United States every 2 minutes; Whereas the Department of Justice reports that more than 200,000 people in the United States are sexually assaulted each year; Whereas nearly 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men have been victims of rape at some point in their lives; Whereas the Department of Defense received 3,158 reports of sexual assault involving members of the Armed Forces in fiscal year 2010; Whereas children and young adults are most at risk of sexual assault, as 44 percent of sexual assault victims are under 18 years of age, and 80 percent are under 30 years of age; Whereas sexual assault affects women, men, and children of all racial, social, religious, age, ethnic, and economic groups in the United States; Whereas women, men, and children suffer multiple types of sexual violence, including acquaintance, stranger, spousal, and gang rape, incest, child sexual molestation, forced prostitution, trafficking, forced pornography, ritual abuse, sexual harassment, and stalking; Whereas it is estimated that the percentage of completed or attempted rape victimization among women in institutions of higher education is between 20 and 25 percent over the course of a college career; Whereas, in addition to the immediate physical and emotional costs, sexual assault has associated consequences that may include post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, major depression, homelessness, eating disorders, and suicide; Whereas only 41 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 sexual assault survivors suffer emotional scars long after the physical scars have healed; Whereas, because of 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 lead to the incarceration of rapists and therefore prevent those individuals from committing further crimes; Whereas national, State, territory, and tribal coalitions, community-based rape crisis centers, and other organizations across the United States are committed to increasing public awareness of sexual violence and its prevalence, and to eliminating sexual violence through prevention and education; Whereas important partnerships have been formed among criminal and juvenile justice agencies, health professionals, public health workers, educators, first responders, and victim service providers; 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; Whereas, according to a 2011 survey of rape crisis centers by the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, 50 percent of the rape crisis centers have experienced a reduction in staffing, 65 percent of the rape crisis centers have a waiting list for services, and funding and staffing cuts have resulted in 67 percent of the rape crisis centers having to reduce the amount of hours they spend dedicated to prevention and awareness; Whereas individual and collective efforts reflect the dream of the people of the United States for a country where individuals and organizations actively work to prevent all forms of sexual violence and no sexual assault victim goes unserved or ever feels that there is no path to justice; and Whereas April is recognized as National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month: Now, therefore, be it That— (1) it is the sense of the Senate 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 survivors of sexual assault, and the prosecution of perpetrators of sexual assault; (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 survivors of sexual assault, and increasing the number of successful prosecutions of perpetrators of sexual assault; and (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) the Senate strongly recommends that national and community organizations, businesses in the private sector, institutions of higher education, 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) the Senate supports the goals and ideals of National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.