IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 829 

Recognizing and supporting the goals and ideals of ‘‘National Sexual Assault 

Awareness and Prevention Month’’. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 13, 2018 

Mr. REED (for himself, Ms. SPEIER, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Ms. 

FRANKEL of Florida, Mr. MCNERNEY, Ms. MOORE, Mr. FITZPATRICK, 

Mrs. COMSTOCK, Mrs. BEATTY, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mrs. 

MIMI WALTERS of California, Mr. PEARCE, Ms. JENKINS of Kansas, Ms. 

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. PETERS, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, 

Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. COHEN, Mr. PANETTA, 

Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania, Mr. JOYCE of Ohio, and Ms. CLARK of 

Massachusetts) 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 the House of Representatives is committed to the 

awareness, prevention, and deterrence of sexual violence 

affecting Americans; 

Whereas according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National 

Network, an individual is sexually assaulted every 98 seconds in the United States, but for every 1,000 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 approximately 323,450 Americans aged 12 and over 

experienced sexual violence in 2016, according to the Department of Justice; 

Whereas nearly 1 in 5 women, or 18.3 percent, and 1 in 71 

men, or 1.4 percent, surveyed in the United States in 

2010 experienced a rape or attempted rape at some time 

in their lives, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 

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 2016, approximately 14,900 servicemembers experienced some form of 

sexual assault; 

Whereas children and young adults are at significant risk of 

sexual assault, as up to 44 percent of sexual assault victims are under 18 years of age, and the majority of sexual assault victims are under 30 years of age; 

Whereas sexual assault affects women, men, and children of 

all racial, social, religious, age, ethnic, and socioeconomic 

groups in the United States; 

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 and members of the 

LGBTQ community, commercial sex trafficking, sexual 

harassment, and stalking; 


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Whereas in addition to the immediate physical and emotional 

costs of sexual assault, sexual assault has numerous adverse consequences, which can include post-traumatic 

stress disorder, substance abuse, major depression, homelessness, eating disorders, and suicide, according to the 

National Alliance to End Sexual Violence; 

Whereas many sexual assaults are not reported to law enforcement agencies, and many States have restrictive 

criminal statutes of limitations, which enable many rapists to evade punishment for their crimes; 

Whereas approximately 70 percent of sexual crimes are committed by individuals who are known to the victim; 

Whereas sexual assault survivors suffer emotional scars long 

after the physical scars have healed; 

Whereas DNA technology has enabled perpetrators to be 

identified and prosecuted in many rape cases; 

Whereas prosecution can lead to the incarceration of rapists 

and prevent those individuals 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) serving survivors of sexual violence; 

(2) eliminating sexual violence through prevention 

and education; and 

(3) increasing public awareness of sexual violence 

and the prevalence of sexual violence; 

Whereas according to the National Alliance to End Sexual 

Violence, 53 percent of rape crisis centers have a waiting 

list for counseling services and rely on Federal, State, 


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and local funding sources to provide services to survivors 

and prevention activities in their communities; 

Whereas student survivors in K–12 and postsecondary education need access to accommodations and support, and 

schools have a responsibility to respond to and prevent 

sexual violence; 

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), which helped 209,480 survivors in 2017, the most since its founding, and continues 

to receive record requests for support in 2018; and 

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

across the United States; 

Whereas the Department of Defense Safe Helpline, Safe 

HelpRoom, and Safe Helpline mobile app each provide 

support and help to members of the Department of Defense community— 

(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— 


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(1) that individuals and organizations 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; 

Whereas in the last year the powerful stories of sexual assault survivors have brought attention to the importance 

of addressing sexual violence to the forefront of our society; 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 House of Representa3 tives that— 

4 (A) ‘‘National Sexual Assault Awareness 

5 and Prevention Month’’ provides a special op6 portunity to educate the people of the United 

7 States about sexual violence and to encourage 

8 sexual assault prevention programs, to improve 

9 the treatment of and services to survivors of 

10 sexual assault, and to increase the prosecution 

11 of perpetrators; 

12 (B) it is appropriate to properly acknowl13 edge survivors of sexual assault and to com14 mend the volunteers and professionals who as15 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 pro4 moting awareness about sexual assault, pro5 viding information and treatment to survivors 

6 of sexual assault, and increasing the number of 

7 successful prosecutions of perpetrators of sexual 

8 assault; and 

9 (D) public safety, law enforcement, and 

10 health professionals should be recognized and 

11 applauded for their hard work and innovative 

12 strategies to ensure perpetrators of sexual as13 sault are held accountable; and 

14 (2) the House of Representatives supports the 

15 goals and ideals of ‘‘National Sexual Assault Aware16 ness and Prevention Month’’. 

Æ 


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