IV 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 186 
Supporting the goals and ideals of Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention 
Month. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 26, 2015 
Mr. REED (for himself, Ms. MOORE, Mr. POE of Texas, Ms. WASSERMAN 
SCHULTZ, Mr. MARINO, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. HANNA, Ms. NOR-
TON, Mr. GIBSON, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of 
Illinois, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. COFFMAN, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of 
New York, and Ms. SPEIER) 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 people in the United States are sexually as-
saulted each year; 
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, and religious, age, ethnic, ability, sexual 
orientation, and economic groups in the United States; 
Whereas, according to the Department of Justice, all 18- to 
24-year olds are at significant risk of sexual assault, 
whether they are in college or not; 
Whereas female college students in that age range are about 
5 times more likely to be sexually assaulted than the pop-
ulation at large, while non-students are about 6 times 
more likely; 
Whereas for males 18–24, the risk is higher among college 
students: men make up 17 percent of all college student 
victims, and about 4 percent of non-student victims; 
Whereas the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in its 
Uniform Crime Reports, expanded its definition of rape 
to include sexual assault against males, which assists in 
making reporting of this devastating crime more accu-
rate; 
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, wheth-
er committed by a stranger, family member, or acquaint-
ance of the victim; 
Whereas less than half of victims of sexual assault pursue 
prosecution by reporting their attack to law enforcement; 
Whereas by fully assessing the scope of the backlog of untest-
ed evidence in the possession of law enforcement and 
crime labs and by using DNA technology to eliminate the 
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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 methodi-
cally select their victims and plan their crimes, thereby 
preventing them from committing additional crimes; 
Whereas national, State, territory, and tribal coalitions, com-
munity-based sexual assault service providers, law en-
forcement agencies and other organizations across the 
United States are committed to increasing public aware-
ness of sexual violence and its prevalence, and to elimi-
nating it through improvements to the criminal justice 
system and programs to prevent crime and educate the 
public; 
Whereas important partnerships have formed among criminal 
justice and juvenile justice agencies, health professionals, 
public health workers, educators, first responders, and 
victim service providers; 
Whereas according to a 2014 survey of rape crisis centers by 
the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, more than 
one-third of rape crisis centers have a waiting list for 
services, over 40 percent of rape crisis centers were 
forced to reduce staffing because of funding levels, more 
than one-fourth of rape crisis centers had to decrease the 
number of prevention education services due to insuffi-
cient funding, and of those rape crisis centers that made 
staffing reductions, an average of 3 positions were termi-
nated or left vacant; 
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 
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Assault Online Hotline (online.rainn.org), and more than 
1,000 sexual assault service providers across the Nation; 
Whereas the Department of Defense (DOD) estimates that 
approximately 19,000 servicemembers experienced un-
wanted sexual conduct last year; 
Whereas the DOD Safe Helpline, Safe HelpRoom, and Safe 
Helpline mobile app provide support and help to active 
duty service members and other members of the DOD 
community worldwide by phone (877–995–5247) and on-
line at SafeHelpline.org, as well as installation-based re-
ferrals via texting; 
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 victim of 
sexual assault goes unserved, and no perpetrator of this 
crime goes unpunished; and 
Whereas April is recognized as ‘‘National Sexual Assault 
Awareness and Prevention Month’’: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That— 
(1) it is the sense of the House of Representa-
tives that— 
(A) National Sexual Assault Awareness 
and Prevention Month provides a special oppor-
tunity to educate the people of the United 
States about sexual violence and to encourage 
the prevention of sexual assault, the improved 
treatment of its victims, and the prosecution of 
its perpetrators; 
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(B) it is appropriate to properly acknowl-
edge the more than 20 million men and women 
who have survived sexual assault in the United 
States and to salute the efforts of survivors, 
volunteers, and professionals who combat sexual 
assault; 
(C) national and community organizations 
and private-sector supporters should be recog-
nized and applauded for their work in pro-
moting awareness about sexual assault, pro-
viding information and treatment to its sur-
vivors, and increasing the number of successful 
prosecutions of its perpetrators; and 
(D) public safety, law enforcement, and 
health professionals should be recognized and 
applauded for their hard work and innovative 
strategies to increase the percentage of sexual 
assault cases that result in the prosecution and 
incarceration of its perpetrators; 
(2) the House of Representatives— 
(A) strongly recommends national and 
community-based organizations, businesses in 
the private sector, colleges and universities, and 
the media promote, through National Sexual 
Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, 
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awareness of sexual violence, resources for its 
survivors and their friends and family members, 
and strategies to decrease the incidence of sex-
ual assault; and 
(B) supports the goals and ideals of Na-
tional Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention 
Month. 
Æ 
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