III 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 603 

Recognizing and supporting the goals and ideals of National Sexual Assault 

Awareness and Prevention Month. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 28, 2022 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. TILLIS, Ms. 

HASSAN, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. 

PADILLA, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. SMITH, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. BOOKER, 

Mr. DURBIN, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. 

LUJA ́N, Mrs. MURRAY, and Mr. WYDEN) 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 the Senate is committed to the awareness, prevention, and deterrence of sexual violence affecting individuals in the United States; 

Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention (referred to in this preamble as the ‘‘CDC’’), 

1 in 4 women and 1 in 10 men experience sexual or physical violence and stalking by an intimate partner; 

Whereas, according to the 2020 Child Maltreatment Report 

of the Department of Health and Human Services, child 

protection service agencies throughout the United States 


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substantiated, or found strong evidence to indicate, that 

57,963 children under 18 years of age were victims of 

sexual abuse that year; 

Whereas, according to the 2015 National Intimate Partner 

and Sexual Violence Survey, 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 

men who have experienced a completed or attempted rape 

experienced it for the first time between the ages of 11 

and 17; 

Whereas sexual violence is a burden for many individuals who 

serve in the Armed Forces, and the Department of Defense estimates that approximately 20,500 members of 

the Armed Forces, including approximately 13,000 

women and 7,500 men, experienced some form of contact 

or penetrative sexual assault during 2018; 

Whereas, due to the unprecedented challenges presented by 

the COVID–19 pandemic, including mandatory stay-athome orders, the needs of sexual assault victims have become even more complex and challenging; 

Whereas sexual assault does not discriminate on any basis 

and can affect any individual in the United States; 

Whereas sexual violence may take many forms, including— 

(1) acquaintance, stranger, spousal, and gang rape; 

(2) incest; 

(3) child sexual abuse; 

(4) elder sexual abuse; 

(5) sexual abuse and exploitation of underserved 

communities; 

(6) commercial sex trafficking; 

(7) sexual harassment; and 

(8) stalking; 


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Whereas studies have suggested that survivors of color face 

unique challenges, and more should be done to better understand the impact of sexual violence on communities of 

color; 

Whereas studies have suggested that the rate at which American Indians and Alaska Natives experience sexual violence is significantly higher than for other populations in 

the United States; 

Whereas, according to the National Alliance to End Sexual 

Violence, in addition to the immediate physical and emotional costs, sexual assault has numerous adverse consequences, which can include post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, major depression, homelessness, 

eating disorders, and suicide; 

Whereas, according to a 2019 CDC survey, the average cost 

of rape is $122,461 for each victim over the victim’s lifetime, totaling a $3,100,000,000,000 economic burden for 

survivors of rape in the United States; 

Whereas, according to the National Crime Victimization Survey, an average of only 23 percent of rapes or sexual assaults in the United States were reported to law enforcement agencies between 2019 and 2020; 

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

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

Whereas advances in deoxyribonucleic acid (commonly known 

as ‘‘DNA’’) technology have enabled law enforcement 

agencies to identify and prosecute the perpetrators in 

tens of thousands of previously unsolved sexual assault 

cases; 


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Whereas incarceration of sexual assault perpetrators can prevent perpetrators from committing additional crimes; 

Whereas, according to a March 2021 survey by the National 

Alliance to End Sexual Violence, 45 percent of rape crisis 

centers lack a therapist on staff, and 76 percent of programs had an increased demand for services in the past 

year; 

Whereas national, State, territorial, and Tribal coalitions, 

community-based rape crisis centers, culturally-specific 

sexual assault organizations, and other organizations 

across the United States are committed to— 

(1) eliminating sexual violence through prevention 

and education; and 

(2) increasing public awareness of sexual violence 

and the prevalence of sexual violence; 

Whereas thousands of volunteers and staff at rape crisis centers, State coalitions against sexual assault, culturally 

specific sexual assault organizations, 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 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— 

(1) the victim service programs of the Rape, Abuse 

& Incest National Network (commonly known and referred to in this preamble as ‘‘RAINN’’), including the 

National Sexual Assault Hotline— 


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(A) by telephone at 800–656–HOPE; and 

(B) online at https://hotline.rainn.org; and 

(2) more than 1,500 sexual assault service providers 

across the United States; 

Whereas the victim service programs of RAINN, including 

the National Sexual Assault Hotline, help more than 

300,000 survivors and their loved ones each year; 

Whereas the Department of Defense provides the Safe 

Helpline, Safe HelpRoom, and Safe Helpline mobile application, each of which provide support and help to 

members of the Department of Defense community— 

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

(2) online at https://SafeHelpline.org; 

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 victim of sexual assault to be unserved or 

feel that there is no path to justice; and 

Whereas April 2022 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— 

6 (i) educate the people of the United 

7 States about sexual violence; and 


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1 (ii) encourage— 

2 (I) the prevention of sexual as3 sault; 

4 (II) improvement in the treat5 ment of survivors of sexual assault; 

6 and 

7 (III) the prosecution of perpetra8 tors of sexual assault; 

9 (B) it is appropriate to properly acknowl10 edge survivors of sexual assault and to com11 mend the volunteers and professionals who as12 sist those survivors in their efforts to heal; 

13 (C) national and community organizations 

14 and private sector supporters should be recog15 nized and applauded for their work in— 

16 (i) promoting awareness about sexual 

17 assault; 

18 (ii) providing information and treat19 ment to survivors of sexual assault; and 

20 (iii) increasing the number of success21 ful prosecutions of perpetrators of sexual 

22 assault; and 

23 (D) public safety, law enforcement, and 

24 health professionals should be recognized and 

25 applauded for their hard work and innovative 


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1 strategies to ensure perpetrators of sexual as2 sault are held accountable; and 

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

4 National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention 

5 Month. 

Æ 


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