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A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION
21-25
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
April 14, 2015
To declare the month of April 2015 as “Sexual Assault Awareness Month” in the District of Columbia, to recognize and support healthy human development, and to prevent child and adult sexual abuse.
WHEREAS, women’s organized protests against violence began in the late 1970s in England with ‘Take Back the Night’ marches;
WHEREAS, these women-only protests emerged in direct response to the violence that women encountered as they walked the streets at night;
WHEREAS, these activities became more coordinated and soon developed into a movement that extended to the United States and, in 1978, the first Take Back the Night events in the United States were held in San Francisco and New York City;
WHEREAS, sexual assault awareness activities expanded to include the issue of sexual violence against men and men’s participation in ending sexual violence;
WHEREAS, in the late 1980s, the National Coalition Against Sexual Assault informally polled state sexual assault coalitions to determine when to have a national Sexual Assault Awareness Week, which preceded Sexual Assault Awareness Month;
WHEREAS, the month of April has been designated as Sexual Assault Awareness Month in the United States and first observed nationally in April 2001, after the alarming statistics of sexual assaults and underreporting became more prevalent;
WHEREAS, according to the Department of Justice’s National Crime Victimization Survey, every 2 minutes, someone in the United States is sexually assaulted;
WHEREAS, one out of every 6 -- 17.7 million American women -- has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime;
WHEREAS, nearly 3 million men in the United States have been the victims of sexual assault or rape;
WHEREAS, girls 16 through 19 years of age are 4 times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault;
WHEREAS, the rate of rape and sexual assault is 1.2 times higher for nonstudents than for students;
WHEREAS, victims of sexual assault are 3 times more likely to suffer from depression, 6 times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, 13 times more likely to abuse alcohol, 26 times more likely to abuse drugs, and 4 times more likely to contemplate suicide;
WHEREAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, among female victims of partner violence who filed a protective order, 68% reported they were raped by their intimate partner and 20% reported a rape-related pregnancy;
WHEREAS, approximately 80% of assaults are committed by someone known to the victim and 38% of rapists are a friend or acquaintance;
WHEREAS, despite the prevalence of sexual violence and its disproportionate effect on at-risk populations, such as the LGBT community, sexual violence remains the most underreported crime; and
WHEREAS, despite these harrowing statistics, sexual assault has decreased by 60% since 1993, thanks to the awareness campaigns by organizations like Break The Cycle, the D.C. Rape Crisis Center, Collective Action for Safe Spaces, Stop Street Harassment, and Men Can Stop Rape, and historic gains made by the Violence Against Women Act and other laws passed and being enforced around the country.
IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, that the Council of the District of Columbia recognizes and supports Sexual Assault Awareness Month, urging citizens to show their support for all victims of sexual assault and the fight against violent crimes. By working together and pooling our resources during the month of April, District residents can highlight sexual violence as a major public-health, human-rights and social-justice issue and reinforce the need for prevention.
Sec. 2. This resolution may be cited as the “Sexual Assault Awareness Month Recognition Resolution of 2015”.
Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon the first date of publication in the District of Columbia Register.
