III 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 452 

Recognizing and supporting the goals and ideals of National Sexual Assault 

Awareness and Prevention Month. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 28, 2016 

Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. LEAHY, Ms. AYOTTE, Mr. CASEY, Mrs. 

ERNST, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, and Mr. HELLER) 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 on average, an individual is sexually assaulted in the 

United States every 2 minutes, according to the Rape, 

Abuse and Incest National Network; 

Whereas nearly 80,000 rapes were reported to law enforcement in 2013, according to the Department of Justice; 

Whereas according to the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention, 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; 

Whereas sexual violence is also a burden for many individuals 

who serve the United States, and the Department of DeVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:50 Apr 29, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR452.ATS SR452

smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
2 

•SRES 452 ATS 

fense estimates that approximately 19,000 members of 

the United States Armed Forces experienced unwanted 

sexual contact in fiscal year 2014; 

Whereas children and young adults are at significant risk of 

sexual assault, up to 44 percent of sexual assault victims 

are under 18 years of age, and up to 80 percent 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, commercial sex trafficking, sexual 

harassment, and stalking; 

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, which enables many rapists to evade 

punishment for their crimes; 

Whereas as many as 2⁄3 of sexual crimes are committed by 

individuals who are not strangers to the victims; 

Whereas sexual assault survivors suffer emotional scars long 

after the physical scars of the survivors have healed; 

Whereas advances in DNA technology have enabled law enforcement agencies to potentially identify and prosecute 

the perpetrators in tens of thousands of unsolved rape 

cases; 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
3 

•SRES 452 ATS 

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) 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— 

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

(2) online at SafeHelpline.org; 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
4 

•SRES 452 ATS 

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 2016 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 educate the people of the United 

6 States about sexual violence and to encourage 

7 the prevention of sexual assault, improvement 

8 in the treatment of survivors of sexual assault, 

9 and the prosecution of perpetrators of sexual 

10 assault; 

11 (B) it is appropriate to properly acknowl12 edge survivors of sexual assault and to com13 mend the volunteers and professionals who as14 sist those survivors in their efforts to heal; 

15 (C) national and community organizations 

16 and private sector supporters should be recog17 nized and applauded for their work in pro18 moting awareness about sexual assault, proVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:50 Apr 29, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR452.ATS SR452

smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
5 

•SRES 452 ATS 

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 and Prevention 

12 Month. 

Æ 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS