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