III 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 159 

Recognizing and supporting the goals and ideals of National Sexual Assault 

Awareness Month. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 8, 2017 

Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, and Mrs. ERNST) submitted the 

following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing and supporting the goals and ideals of National 

Sexual Assault Awareness Month. 

Whereas, according to the Department of Justice, there were 

an estimated 90,185 rapes reported to law enforcement 

in 2015, which is a 6.3-percent increase as compared to 

2014; 

Whereas, according to the National Sexual Violence Resource 

Center, 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men will experience 

an attempted or completed rape at some point in their 

lives; 

Whereas, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National 

Network, an individual is sexually assaulted every 98 seconds in the United States, but for every 1000 rapes committed, on average only— 

(1) 310 rapes are reported to law enforcement; 


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(2) 57 reported rape cases lead to an arrest; 

(3) 11 rape cases are referred for prosecution; 

(4) 7 rape cases lead to a felony conviction; and 

(5) 6 convicted rapists are sentenced to some form 

of incarceration; 

Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention, more than 1⁄2 of all female rape victims reported being raped by an intimate partner; 

Whereas sexual violence is a burden for many individuals who 

serve in the United States Armed Forces, and the Department of Defense estimates that in 2015, over 16,000 

service members intervened in situations they believed to 

be at risk for sexual assault; 

Whereas sexual assault does not discriminate on any basis 

and can affect any individual in the United States; 

Whereas sexual violence may take many forms, including acquaintance, stranger, spousal, and gang rape, incest, 

child sexual abuse, commercial sex trafficking, sexual 

harassment, and stalking; 

Whereas, according to the National Alliance to End Sexual 

Violence, in addition to the immediate physical and emotional costs, sexual assault can have numerous adverse 

consequences for the victim, which may include post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, major depression, 

homelessness, eating disorders, and suicide; 

Whereas many sexual assaults are not reported to law enforcement agencies, which enables many perpetrators to 

evade punishment for their crimes; 

Whereas sexual assault survivors suffer emotional complications long after their physical scars have healed; 


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Whereas advances in deoxyribonucleaic acid (DNA) technology have enabled law enforcement agencies to identify 

and prosecute the perpetrators in tens of thousands of 

unsolved sexual assault cases; 

Whereas incarceration of sexual assault perpetrators can prevent perpetrators from committing additional crimes; 

Whereas national, State, territorial, and tribal coalitions, 

community-based rape crisis centers, and other organizations across the United States are committed to— 

(1) increasing public awareness of sexual violence 

and the prevalence of sexual violence; and 

(2) 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 thousands of volunteers and staff at rape crisis centers, State coalitions against sexual assault, and nonprofit organizations across the United States play an important role in making crisis hotlines and other services 

available to survivors of sexual assault; 

Whereas free, confidential help is available to all victims and 

survivors of sexual assault through— 

(1) the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800-656- 

HOPE and online.rainn.org); and 

(2) more than 1,000 sexual assault service providers 

across the United States; 

Whereas the DoD Safe Helpline, Safe HelpRoom, and Safe 

Helpline mobile app each provide support and help to 

members of the Department of Defense community— 


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(1) by telephone at 877-995-5247; and 

(2) online at SafeHelpline.org; 

Whereas individual and collective efforts reflect the dream of 

the people of the United States— 

(1) for individuals and organizations to actively work 

to prevent all forms of sexual violence; and 

(2) for no sexual assault victim to be unserved or 

feel that there is no path to justice; and 

Whereas April 2017 is recognized as ‘‘National Sexual Assault Awareness Month’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That— 

2 (1) it is the sense of the Senate that— 

3 (A) National Sexual Assault Awareness 

4 Month provides a special opportunity to educate 

5 the people of the United States about sexual vi6 olence and to encourage the prevention of sex7 ual assault, improvement in the treatment of 

8 survivors of sexual assault, and the prosecution 

9 of perpetrators of sexual assault; 

10 (B) it is appropriate to properly acknowl11 edge survivors of sexual assault and to com12 mend the volunteers and professionals who as13 sist those survivors in their efforts to heal; 

14 (C) national and community organizations 

15 and private sector supporters should be recog16 nized and applauded for their work in pro17 moting awareness about sexual assault, proVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 May 08, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR159.ATS SR159

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1 viding information and treatment to survivors 

2 of sexual assault, and increasing the number of 

3 successful prosecutions of perpetrators of sexual 

4 assault; and 

5 (D) public safety, law enforcement, and 

6 health professionals should be recognized and 

7 applauded for their hard work and innovative 

8 strategies to ensure perpetrators of sexual as9 sault are held accountable; and 

10 (2) the Senate supports the goals and ideals of 

11 National Sexual Assault Awareness Month. 

Æ 


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