IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. CON. RES. 77 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 24, 2008 

Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Supporting the goals and ideals of National Sexual Assault 

Awareness and Prevention Month 2008. 

Whereas on average, a person is sexually assaulted in the 

United States every 21⁄2 minutes; 

Whereas the Department of Justice reports that 191,670 

people in the United States were sexually assaulted in 

2005; 

Whereas 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men have been victims 

of rape or attempted rape; 

Whereas the Department of Defense received 2,688 reports 

of sexual assault involving members of the Armed Forces 

in fiscal year 2007; 

Whereas children and young adults are most at risk of sexual 

assault, as 44 percent of sexual assault victims are under 

the age of 18, and 80 percent are under the age of 30; 


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SCON 77 RFH 

Whereas sexual assault affects women, men, and children of 

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

groups in the United States; 

Whereas only 41 percent of sexual assault victims pursue 

prosecution by reporting their attacks to law enforcement 

agencies; 

Whereas 2⁄3 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 prevention education programs carried out by rape 

crisis and women’s health centers have the potential to 

reduce the prevalence of sexual assault in their communities; 

Whereas because of recent advances in DNA technology, law 

enforcement agencies now have the potential to identify 

the rapists in tens of thousands of unsolved rape cases; 

Whereas aggressive prosecution can incarcerate rapists and 

therefore prevent them from committing further crimes; 

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; and 

Whereas April is recognized as ‘‘National Sexual Assault 

Awareness and Prevention Month’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 

2 concurring), That— 

3 (1) it is the sense of Congress that— 


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SCON 77 RFH 

1 (A) National Sexual Assault Awareness 

2 and Prevention Month provides a special oppor3 tunity to educate the people of the United 

4 States about sexual violence and to encourage 

5 the prevention of sexual assault, the improved 

6 treatment of its survivors, and the prosecution 

7 of its perpetrators; 

8 (B) it is appropriate to properly acknowl9 edge the more than 20,000,000 men and 

10 women who have survived sexual assault in the 

11 United States and salute the efforts of sur12 vivors, volunteers, and professionals who com13 bat sexual assault; 

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, pro18 viding information and treatment to its sur19 vivors, and increasing the number of successful 

20 prosecutions of its perpetrators; and 

21 (D) public safety, law enforcement, and 

22 health professionals should be recognized and 

23 applauded for their hard work and innovative 

24 strategies to increase the percentage of sexual 


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1 assault cases that result in the prosecution and 

2 incarceration of the offenders; 

3 (2) Congress strongly recommends that national 

4 and community organizations, businesses in the pri5 vate sector, colleges and universities, and the media 

6 promote, through National Sexual Assault Aware7 ness and Prevention Month, awareness of sexual vio8 lence and strategies to decrease the incidence of sex9 ual assault; and 

10 (3) Congress supports the goals and ideals of 

11 National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention 

12 Month 2008. 

Passed the Senate April 23, 2008. 

Attest: NANCY ERICKSON, 

Secretary. 


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