III 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 501 

Recognizing and supporting the goals and ideals of Sexual Assault Awareness 

Month. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 27, 2010 

Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mr. BROWNBACK, and Mr. FRANKEN) submitted the 

following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing and supporting the goals and ideals of Sexual 

Assault Awareness Month. 

Whereas on average, a person is sexually assaulted in the 

United States every 2 1⁄2 minutes; 

Whereas the Department of Justice reports that 203,830 

people in the United States were sexually assaulted in 

2008; 

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

of rape or attempted rape; 

Whereas the Department of Defense received 2,908 reports 

of sexual assault involving members of the Armed Forces 

in fiscal year 2008, representing an 8 percent increase 

from fiscal year 2007; 


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•SRES 501 ATS 

Whereas children and young adults are most at risk of sexual 

assault, as 44 percent of sexual assault victims are under 

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

of age; 

Whereas sexual assault affects women, men, and children of 

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

groups in the United States; 

Whereas women, children, and men suffer multiple types of 

sexual violence, including acquaintance, stranger, spousal, 

and gang rape, incest, child sexual molestation, forced 

prostitution, trafficking, forced pornography, ritual 

abuse, sexual harassment, and stalking; 

Whereas it is estimated that the percentage of completed or 

attempt rape victimization among women in institutions 

of higher education is between 20 and 25 percent over 

the course of a college career; 

Whereas, in addition to the immediate physical and emotional 

costs, sexual assault has associated consequences that 

may include post-traumatic stress disorder, substance 

abuse, major depression, homelessness, eating disorders, 

and suicide; 

Whereas only 41 percent of sexual assault victims pursue 

prosecution by reporting their attack 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, because of advances in DNA technology, law enforcement agencies have the potential to identify the rapists in tens of thousands of unsolved rape cases; 


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•SRES 501 ATS 

Whereas aggressive prosecution can lead to the incarceration 

of rapists and therefore prevent these individuals from 

committing further crimes; 

Whereas national, State, territory, and tribal coalitions, community-based rape crisis centers, and other organizations 

across the Nation are committed to increasing public 

awareness of sexual violence and its prevalence, and to 

eliminating it 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 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; 

Whereas, according to a 2010 survey of rape crisis centers 

by the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, 72 percent of programs have experienced a reduction in funding 

over the past year, 56 percent have experienced a reduction in staffing, 23 percent have a waiting list for services, and funding and staffing cuts have resulted in an 

overall 50 percent reduction in the provision of institutional advocacy services; 

Whereas individual and collective efforts reflect the dream of 

the people of the United States for a nation where citizens and organizations actively work to prevent all forms 

of sexual violence and no sexual assault victim goes 

unserved or ever feels there is no path to justice; and 


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•SRES 501 ATS 

Whereas April 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, the improved 

8 treatment of survivors of sexual assault, and 

9 the prosecution of perpetrators of sexual as10 sault; 

11 (B) it is appropriate to properly acknowl12 edge the more than 20,000,000 men and 

13 women who have survived sexual assault in the 

14 United States and salute the efforts of sur15 vivors, volunteers, and professionals who com16 bat sexual assault; 

17 (C) national and community organizations 

18 and private sector supporters should be recog19 nized and applauded for their work in pro20 moting awareness about sexual assault, pro21 viding information and treatment to survivors 

22 of sexual assault, and increasing the number of 

23 successful prosecutions of perpetrators of sexual 

24 assault; and 


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•SRES 501 ATS 

1 (D) public safety, law enforcement, and 

2 health professionals should be recognized and 

3 applauded for their hard work and innovative 

4 strategies to increase the percentage of sexual 

5 assault cases that result in the prosecution and 

6 incarceration of the offenders; 

7 (2) the Senate strongly recommends that na8 tional and community organizations, businesses in 

9 the private sector, colleges and universities, and the 

10 media promote, through National Sexual Assault 

11 Awareness and Prevention Month, awareness of sex12 ual violence and strategies to decrease the incidence 

13 of sexual assault; and 

14 (3) the Senate supports the goals and ideals of 

15 National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention 

16 Month. 

Æ 


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