119-sres179

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 179 Agreed to Senate

    (ATS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
S. RES. 179

 Recognizing and supporting the goals and ideals of National Sexual 
 Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 April 10, 2025

Mr. Grassley (for himself, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Collins, Ms. Cortez Masto, 
 Ms. Ernst, Mr. Fetterman, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Lujan, and Mr. Blumenthal) 
 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, 2 in 5 
 women and 1 in 4 men experience sexual or physical violence, or 
 stalking, by an intimate partner;
Whereas, according to the 2023 Child Maltreatment Report of the Department of 
 Health and Human Services, child protection service agencies throughout 
 the United States substantiated, or found strong evidence to indicate, 
 that 546,159 children under 18 years of age were victims of sexual abuse 
 or neglect that year;
Whereas, according to the 2016/2017 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 
 29,061 members of the Armed Forces, including approximately 15,201 women 
 and 13,860 men, experienced some form of contact or penetrative sexual 
 assault during 2023;
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;

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 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey, 
 the average cost of rape is $122,461 for each victim over the lifetime 
 of the victim, totaling a $3,100,000,000,000 economic burden for 
 survivors of rape in the United States;
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;
Whereas incarceration of sexual assault perpetrators can prevent perpetrators 
 from committing additional crimes;
Whereas, according to a 2023 survey by the National Alliance to End Sexual 
 Violence, 48 percent of rape crisis centers lack a therapist on staff, 
 and 70 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--

 G
        (A) by telephone at 800-656-HOPE; and

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

    (2) more than 1,500 local rape crisis centers 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 on average;
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 2025 is recognized as ``National Sexual Assault Awareness and 
 Prevention Month'': Now, therefore, be it
 Resolved, That--

    (1) it is the sense of the Senate that--
        (A) National Sexual Assault Awareness and 
 Prevention Month provides a special opportunity--
            (i) to educate the people of the United 
 States about sexual violence; and
            (ii) to encourage--
            (I) the prevention of sexual 
 assault;
            (II) improvement in the treatment 
 of survivors of sexual assault; and
            (III) the prosecution of 
 perpetrators of sexual assault;
        (B) it is appropriate to properly acknowledge 
 survivors of sexual assault and to commend the 
 volunteers and professionals who assist those survivors 
 in their efforts to heal;
            (C) national and community organizations and 
 private sector supporters should be recognized and 
 applauded for their work in--
            (i) promoting awareness about sexual 
 assault;
            (ii) providing information and treatment to 
 survivors of sexual assault; and
            (iii) increasing the number of successful 
 prosecutions of perpetrators of sexual assault; 
 and
            (D) public safety, law enforcement, and health 
 professionals should be recognized and applauded for 
 their hard work and innovative strategies to ensure 
 perpetrators of sexual assault are held accountable; 
 and

    (2) the Senate supports the goals and ideals of National 
 Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.
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