May 20, 2021 - Washington - The Senate on Tuesday passed a bipartisan resolution introduced by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) in support of National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.

The resolution was cosponsored by Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).

“We need to lift the stigma associated with sexual assault,” Senator Feinstein said. “Victims should feel empowered to speak out, knowing they’ll receive the support necessary to deal with their trauma. I’m grateful the Senate passed our resolution. It will help raise awareness, combat this problem and encourage more victims to speak out.”

“Each year, sexual assault crimes impact millions of Americans from all walks of life, and survivors often carry the trauma of these crimes for many years afterward. National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month is an opportunity to raise awareness surrounding these terrible acts and pledge our support to survivors,” Senator Grassley said. “This resolution expresses Congress’ support for survivors and applauds advocates who provide much-needed assistance not just in the month of April but every single day in the year. It also highlights the need to prevent and prosecute crimes of sexual violence across the country.”

“While it's important to talk about what we can do to reduce sexual violence, hold perpetrators accountable, and support survivors all year long, Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month gives us an important opportunity to highlight how widespread sexual violence is and its far-reaching impact on our communities,” said Scott Berkowitz, president of RAINN. “We thank Sens. Feinstein and Grassley for their leadership on this issue and for working to create a safer nation for all.”

Full text of the resolution follows:

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 2019 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, 60,927 children under 18 years of age were victims of sexual abuse that year;

 Whereas children and young adults are at significant risk of experiencing sexual assault, as up to 69 percent of sexual assault victims are under 34 years of age;

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 Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) pandemic, including mandatory stay-at-home orders, the needs of sexual assault victims have become even more complex and challenging;

Whereas, according to a March 2020 survey by the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, 62 percent of rape crisis centers have a waiting list for counseling services, 35 per- cent lack a therapist on staff, and 40 percent of pro- grams have an increased demand for services since the beginning of the COVID–19 pandemic;

Whereas the American Journal of Emergency Medicine re- ported a 10 to 30 percent increase in reports of family violence since the beginning of the COVID–19 pandemic;

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 acquaintance, stranger, spousal, and gang rape, incest, child sexual abuse, elder sexual abuse, sexual abuse and exploitation of disabled persons and members of the LGBTQ community, commercial sex trafficking, sexual harassment, and stalking;

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 a 2010 CDC survey, approximately 1 in 8 lesbian women (13 percent or 214,000), nearly half of all bisexual women (46 percent or 1,500,000), and 1 in 6 heterosexual women (17 percent or 19,000,000) have been raped in their lifetime;

Whereas, according to the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, in addition to the immediate physical and emotional costs, sexual assault has numerous adverse con- sequences, which can include post-traumatic stress dis- order, substance abuse, major depression, homelessness, eating disorders, and suicide;

Whereas, according to the National Crime Victimization Survey, an average of only 34 percent of rapes or sexual as- saults in the United States were reported to law enforcement agencies;

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 national, State, territorial, and Tribal coalitions, community-based rape crisis centers, and other organizations across the United States are committed to—

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 thousands of volunteers and staff at rape crisis centers, State coalitions against sexual assault, and non- profit organizations across the United States play an important role in making crisis hotlines and other services available to survivors of sexual assault;

Whereas free, confidential help is available to all victims and survivors of sexual assault through—

Whereas the victim service programs of RAINN, including the National Sexual Assault Hotline, helped a total of 60,437 victims receive help in May and June of 2020, up 18 percent from the same time period in 2019;

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—

Whereas individual and collective efforts reflect the dream of the people of the United States—

Whereas April 2021 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—

(2)   the Senate supports the goals and ideals of National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.
Source: Senator Dianne Feinstein