IV 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 193 

Supporting the goals and ideals of Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention 

Month. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 26, 2013 

Ms. MOORE submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the goals and ideals of Sexual Assault Awareness 

and Prevention Month. 

Whereas, on average, a person is sexually assaulted in the 

United States every 2 minutes; 

Whereas the Department of Justice reports that more than 

200,000 Americans are sexually assaulted each year; 

Whereas 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men have been victims 

of rape or attempted rape; 

Whereas children and young adults are most at risk of sexual 

assault, as 44 percent of victims of sexual assault are 

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

of 30; 


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Whereas sexual assault affects women, men, and children of 

all racial, social, religious, age, ethnic, ability, sexual orientation, and economic groups in the United States; 

Whereas, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently 

expanded its definition of rape to include sexual assault 

against males, which will assist in making reporting of 

this devastating crime more accurate and provide a better 

understanding of its effects on victims; 

Whereas, in addition to the immediate physical and emotional 

costs, sexual assault has associated consequences that 

may include post-traumatic stress disorder, substance 

abuse, depression, homelessness, eating disorders, and 

suicide; 

Whereas all forms of sexual violence are unacceptable, whether committed by a stranger, family member or acquaintance of the victim; 

Whereas less than half of sexual assault victims pursue prosecution by reporting their attack to law enforcement 

agencies; 

Whereas, by fully assessing the scope of the backlog of untested evidence in the possession of law enforcement and 

crime labs and by using DNA technology to eliminate the 

backlog, we have the potential to identify and prosecute 

rapists in tens of thousands of unsolved cases; 

Whereas aggressive prosecution can lead to the incarceration 

of rapists, who tend to be serial criminals who methodically select their victims and plan their crimes, thereby 

preventing them from committing further crimes; 

Whereas national, State, territory, and tribal coalitions, community-based sexual assault service providers, law enforcement agencies and other organizations across AmerVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:22 Apr 27, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR193.IH HR193

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ica are committed to increasing public awareness of sexual violence and its prevalence, and to eliminating it 

through improvements to the criminal justice system and 

programs to prevent crime and educate the public; 

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 victims and 

survivors of sexual assault through the National Sexual 

Assault Hotline (800–565–HOPE) and National Sexual 

Assault Online Hotline (online.rainn.org), and more than 

1,100 sexual assault service providers across America; 

Whereas the Department of Defense (DOD) estimates that 

more than 19,000 members of the Armed Forces are sexually assaulted each year; 

Whereas the DOD Safe Helpline provides live help to Active 

duty service members and other members of the DOD 

community worldwide by phone (877–995–5247) and online at SafeHelpline.org, as well as installation-based referrals via texting; 

Whereas, the Safe Helpline mobile app allows survivors of 

sexual assault in the military to create a customized selfcare plan and connect to resources from anywhere in the 

world; 

Whereas this month, the DOD Safe Helpline will launch the 

DOD Safe HelpRoom, a moderated online peer support 

service which will allow survivors of sexual assault in the 

military to connect with one another in a secure online 

environment; 


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Whereas, according to a 2012 survey of rape crisis centers 

by the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, 50 percent of programs have laid-off staff in the past year, with 

more than 100 advocates losing their jobs and more than 

120 positions left vacant, and 65 percent of programs 

have a waiting list for counseling services; 

Whereas individual and collective efforts reflect our dream for 

a Nation where citizens and organizations actively work 

to prevent all forms of sexual violence and no sexual assault victim goes unserved and no sexual assault perpetrator goes unpunished; and 

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 House of Representa3 tives that— 

4 (A) National Sexual Assault Awareness 

5 and Prevention Month provides a special oppor6 tunity to educate the people of the United 

7 States about sexual violence and to encourage 

8 the prevention of sexual assault, the improved 

9 treatment of its victims, and the prosecution of 

10 its perpetrators; 

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

13 who have survived sexual assault in the United 

14 States and salute the efforts of survivors, volunVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:16 Apr 27, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR193.IH HR193

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1 teers, and professionals who combat sexual as2 sault; 

3 (C) national and community organizations 

4 and private sector supporters should be recog5 nized and applauded for their work in pro6 moting awareness about sexual assault, pro7 viding information and treatment to its sur8 vivors, and increasing the number of successful 

9 prosecutions of its perpetrators; and 

10 (D) public safety, law enforcement, and 

11 health professionals should be recognized and 

12 applauded for their hard work and innovative 

13 strategies to increase the percentage of sexual 

14 assault cases that result in the prosecution and 

15 incarceration of the offenders; 

16 (2) the House of Representatives strongly rec17 ommends national and community organizations, 

18 businesses in the private sector, colleges and univer19 sities, and the media to promote, through National 

20 Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, 

21 awareness of sexual violence and strategies to de22 crease the incidence of sexual assault; and 


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1 (3) the House of Representatives supports the 

2 goals and ideals of National Sexual Assault Aware3 ness and Prevention Month. 

Æ 


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