TITLE: Recognizing April 2019 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month in Texas.

SUMMARY: Recognizing April 2019 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month in Texas.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, Communities across the state and around the country are observing April 2019 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month; and WHEREAS, Established in 2001 by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, the event was officially recognized by President Barack Obama eight years later to remind Americans of the shocking prevalence of this crime; and WHEREAS, In the U.S., one in three women and one in six men experience some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetime, and 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men are raped; rape is the most underreported crime, and over 60 percent of sexual assaults are not reported to the police; similarly, a quarter of all girls and a sixth of all boys are sexually abused before the age of 18, but only 12 percent of child sexual abuse is ever disclosed to the authorities; and WHEREAS, Annually, crimes of sexual violence cost the U.S. billions of dollars, and health care costs are shown to be 16 percent higher for women who were sexually abused as children and 36 percent higher for women who suffered both physical and sexual abuse in childhood; and WHEREAS, Vigilance against sexual assault is crucial to the safety and well-being of Texans, and this observance provides an opportunity to learn more about prevention while saluting those who work every day to eliminate this crime; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas Legislature hereby recognize April 2019 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month in Texas. Neave Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 1278 was adopted by the House on April 26, 2019, by a non-record vote. Chief Clerk of the House