III 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 499 

Recognizing and supporting the goals and ideals of National Sexual Assault 

Awareness and Prevention Month. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 26, 2018 

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

resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing and supporting the goals and ideals of National 

Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. 

Whereas the Senate is committed to the awareness, prevention, and deterrence of sexual violence affecting individuals in the United States; 

Whereas, according to the Department of Justice, an estimated 323,450 individuals ages 12 and older in the 

United States experienced sexual violence during 2016; 

Whereas, according to the National Crime Victimization Survey, between 1995 and 2010, approximately— 

(1) 3,900,000 women were victims of completed 

rape; 

(2) 1,100,00 women were victims of attempted rape; 

and 

(3) 584,800 men were victims of sexual assault; 


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Whereas, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National 

Network (commonly known as ‘‘RAINN’’), an individual 

is sexually assaulted every 98 seconds in the United 

States, but for every 1,000 rapes committed in the 

United States, on average only— 

(1) 310 rapes are reported to law enforcement agencies; 

(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 Criminal Victimization Summary 

for 2016 of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, only 22.9 

percent of rapes or sexual assaults in the United States 

were reported to law enforcement agencies; 

Whereas studies have suggested that American Indians and 

Alaska Natives are at a significantly higher rate of violent victimization than other individuals in the United 

States; 

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 approximately 14,900 

service members experienced some form of sexual assault 

during 2016; 

Whereas sexual assault does not discriminate on any basis 

and can affect any individual in the United States; 


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

child sexual abuse, elder sexual abuse, sexual abuse and 

exploitation of disabled persons, 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; 

Whereas advances in deoxyribonucleic acid (commonly known 

as ‘‘DNA’’) technology have enabled law enforcement 

agencies to identify and prosecute the perpetrators in 

tens of thousands of previously 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; 


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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— 

(A) by telephone at 800-656-HOPE; and 

(B) online at https://hotline.rainn.org; and 

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

across the United States; 

Whereas the National Sexual Assault Hotline— 

(1) in 2017, helped nearly 210,000 survivors of sexual assault, which represented the greatest number of 

survivors assisted through the hotline since the founding 

of the hotline in 1994; and 

(2) continues to receive record requests for support 

in 2018; 

Whereas the Department of Defense provides the Safe 

Helpline, Safe HelpRoom, and Safe Helpline mobile application, each of which offer support and help to members of the Department of Defense community— 

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

(2) online at https://safehelpline.org; 

Whereas individual and collective efforts reflect the dream of 

the people of the United States— 


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(1) for individuals and organizations to actively work 

to prevent all forms of sexual violence; and 

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

feel that there is no path to justice; and 

Whereas April 2018 is recognized as ‘‘National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention 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 and Prevention Month provides a special oppor5 tunity to— 

6 (i) educate the people of the United 

7 States about sexual violence; and 

8 (ii) encourage— 

9 (I) the prevention of sexual as10 sault; 

11 (II) improvement in the treat12 ment of survivors of sexual assault; 

13 and 

14 (III) the prosecution of perpetra15 tors of sexual assault; 

16 (B) it is appropriate to properly acknowl17 edge survivors of sexual assault and to com18 mend the volunteers and professionals who as19 sist those survivors in their efforts to heal; 


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1 (C) national and community organizations 

2 and private sector supporters should be recog3 nized and applauded for their work in— 

4 (i) promoting awareness about sexual 

5 assault; 

6 (ii) providing information and treat7 ment to survivors of sexual assault; and 

8 (iii) increasing the number of success9 ful prosecutions of perpetrators of sexual 

10 assault; and 

11 (D) public safety, law enforcement, and 

12 health professionals should be recognized and 

13 applauded for their hard work and innovative 

14 strategies to ensure perpetrators of sexual as15 sault are held accountable; and 

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

17 National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention 

18 Month. 

Æ 


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