[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 632 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 632
Expressing support for the designation of September 2021 as National
Campus Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 10, 2021
Ms. Norton submitted the following resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on Oversight and Reform
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing support for the designation of September 2021 as National
Campus Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
Whereas colleges and universities are now receiving students in person for the
academic year;
Whereas 19 percent of college women and 6 percent of college men will be
survivors 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 survivors reporting that they were first attacked
between the ages of 11 and 17;
Whereas many college students are survivors of ``incapacitated assault'', in
which they are sexually assaulted while drugged, drunk, passed out, or
otherwise incapacitated;
Whereas these survivors 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 survivors are likely to tell someone they know,
most often a friend, about their 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 survivors 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 survivors on their campuses have access to community survivor
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 survivors 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 survivors of campus sexual assaults are more likely to have their lives
disrupted, such as by changing a college major, changing campus housing,
and dropping a class, as a result of the assault;
Whereas over 90 percent of colleges and universities do not have an affirmative
consent policy regarding sexual relations; and
Whereas September 2021, when many students begin or return to college, 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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