Title: Expressing support for the designation of September 2019 as National Campus Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
This resolution expresses support for the designation of National Campus Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 600 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 600

 Expressing support for the designation of September 2019 as National 
                 Campus Sexual Assault Awareness Month.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 26, 2019

 Ms. Norton submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                 the Committee on Oversight and Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing support for the designation of September 2019 as National 
                 Campus Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Whereas colleges and universities are now receiving students for the academic 
        year;
Whereas 19 percent of college women and 6 percent of college men will be victims 
        of sexual assault over the course of their undergraduate careers, with 
        little or no change to this high rate annually;
Whereas freshmen and sophomores in college are at a greater risk of being 
        sexually assaulted than juniors or seniors;
Whereas college students are at a higher risk of sexual assault during the first 
        few months of school, with more than 50 percent of college sexual 
        assaults occurring in either August, September, October, or November;
Whereas 3 in 4 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) college students 
        have experienced sexual harassment and 9 percent of LGBT college 
        students have experienced sexual assault;
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that both middle 
        school and high school students are increasingly experiencing sexual 
        harassment, sexual assault, and sexual violence, with 30 percent of 
        female sexual assault victims reporting that they were first attacked 
        between the ages of 11 and 17;
Whereas many college students are victims of ``incapacitated assault'', in which 
        they are sexually assaulted while drugged, drunk, passed out, or 
        otherwise incapacitated;
Whereas these victims often know their attackers;
Whereas less than 5 percent of rapes and attempted rapes of college students are 
        reported to campus authorities or local law enforcement;
Whereas college sexual assault victims are likely to tell someone they know, 
        most often a friend, about their victimization experience;
Whereas 40 percent of college sexual assault survivors feared reprisal by the 
        perpetrator;
Whereas less than 5 percent of college men account for 90 to 95 percent of the 
        rapes on college campuses;
Whereas many college sexual assault victims fear poor treatment by campus or law 
        enforcement authorities, or even lack knowledge of the reporting 
        process;
Whereas approximately 8 percent of colleges and universities still do not allow 
        confidential reporting of sexual assaults to campus authorities;
Whereas 21 percent of colleges and universities provide no sexual assault 
        response training for members of their faculty and staff;
Whereas more than 30 percent of colleges and universities do not provide any 
        sexual assault training for students;
Whereas approximately 41 percent of colleges and universities have not conducted 
        a single sexual assault investigation in the last 5 years;
Whereas more than 90 percent of colleges and universities state that sexual 
        assault victims on their campuses have access to community victim 
        assistance and advocacy programs, yet only 51 percent of the colleges 
        and universities reported utilizing these services in their team 
        approach;
Whereas most colleges and universities fail to provide access to a specially 
        trained Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE);
Whereas law enforcement officials at 30 percent of colleges and universities 
        receive no training on how to respond to reports of sexual violence;
Whereas more than 70 percent of colleges and universities do not have protocols 
        regarding how the institution and local law enforcement should work 
        together to respond to sexual violence;
Whereas 33 percent of colleges and universities failed to provide training to 
        dispel ``rape myths'' to persons adjudicating sexual assault claims;
Whereas 43 percent of the Nation's largest colleges and universities have 
        students assisting in adjudicating sexual assault cases, which creates 
        privacy and conflict of interest concerns;
Whereas 22 percent of colleges and universities allow athletic department 
        oversight of sexual violence cases involving student athletes;
Whereas more than 10 percent of colleges and universities do not have a title IX 
        coordinator, as required by Federal law;
Whereas many college sexual assault victims experience confusion over how to 
        report a sexual assault, are unsure of acceptable standards of sexual 
        conduct and definitions of rape and sexual assault, and fear punishment 
        for activities preceding some sexual assaults, such as underage 
        drinking;
Whereas only 16 percent of colleges and universities reported conducting 
        confidential climate surveys regarding behaviors that constitute or are 
        associated with sexual assault;
Whereas only 22 percent of colleges and universities provide sexual violence 
        training targeted at the Greek system and only 37 percent provide 
        training targeted at student athletes;
Whereas 21 percent of the Nation's largest private colleges and universities 
        reported not independently investigating all claims of sexual assault 
        that they conveyed to the Department of Education;
Whereas only 10 to 25 percent of the perpetrators of college sexual assaults 
        were permanently expelled;
Whereas only 10 percent of reported college rape cases result in criminal 
        charges against the defendant;
Whereas victims of campus sexual assaults are more likely to make changes in 
        their lives, such as changing a college major, changing campus housing, 
        and dropping a class, as a result of the victimization;
Whereas over 90 percent of colleges and universities do not have an affirmative 
        consent policy regarding sexual relations;
Whereas the Trump administration has undermined key protections against campus 
        sexual assault provided by title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 
        1972; and
Whereas September 2019 is an appropriate month to designate as National Campus 
        Sexual Assault Awareness Month: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives supports the 
designation of National Campus Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
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