Updated Attributions: Grassley Leads Resolution Commemorating National Sexual Assault Awareness Month
WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee
Chairman Chuck Grassley and Senators Dianne Feinstein and Joni Ernst introduced
a bipartisan resolution
to commemorate April as National Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
“Many survivors of sexual violence suffer from severe and lasting challenges, including post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Sadly, the traumatic experience can even lead to suicide,” Grassley said. “This resolution brings greater awareness to the problem of sexual assault and publicly acknowledges the survivors of such horrible crimes.”
“Sexual assault is an epidemic in this country—one in five women are raped at some point during their lives. But too often, the scope of the problem is hidden because women feel too ashamed to come forward and don’t trust that they will be believed. I’ve seen this firsthand over the past several months working with gymnasts whose allegations of sexual abuse were missed by people in positions of authority. Congress has an obligation to help raise awareness of sexual assault to help victims feel comfortable coming forward and stop this epidemic,” said Feinstein.
“Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month serves as an opportunity to call attention to the heinous crime of sexual assault and the need to change the culture surrounding it,” said Senator Ernst. “We won’t tolerate sexual assault in our gyms, on college campuses, in the military, or in our middle and high schools. Sexual assault has absolutely no place anywhere in our society. Together with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I will continue working to prevent sexual assault from happening in the first place, empower survivors, and ensure that perpetrators are held accountable.”
A sexual assault is committed
every 98 seconds in the United States according to law enforcement statistics.
Sexual assault can take many forms, including rape, commercial sex trafficking,
child sexual abuse and stalking. Each horrific instance of sexual assault can
have profound and lasting consequences for victims.
The resolution expresses the
sense of the Senate that National Sexual Assault Awareness Month provides an
important opportunity to acknowledge survivors of sexual assault, educate the
public about sexual violence, and commend the volunteers and professionals who
assist survivors in their efforts to heal. The resolution also commends public
safety, law enforcement and health professionals for their hard work and
innovative strategies to ensure justice for victims and accountability for
perpetrators.
The United States first
observed National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month on April 1,
2001.
Grassley has championed
several bipartisan measures to combat sexual assault and ensure justice for
victims. Among those measures is the recently introduced Campus Accountability and Safety
Act, which
would reform the way college and universities address and report incidents of
sexual assault on their campuses. As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary
Committee, Grassley last month held a hearing that focused on sexual abuse of
young athletes and the need for legislation to require amateur athletic organizations
to report
abuse allegations to the authorities. Grassley also led the committee effort to
approve the Justice
for Victims of Trafficking Act,
which was signed into law on May 29, 2015. Last year, Grassley, alongside
rape-survivor and advocate Amanda Nguyen, led the charge to pass the Survivors’ Bill of Rights, which secured new rights for
survivors of sexual assault and guaranteed victims access to all available
tools in pursuit of justice. The Survivors’ Bill of Rights, which was signed into law on October 7, 2016, also ensures that forensic evidence from federal sexual
assault crimes is preserved for at least 20 years to improve the victims’
opportunities for justice.
Full text of Grassley’s prepared
statement on the resolution follows.
Statement for the Senate Record by
Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee
“National Sexual Assault Awareness
Month”
April 27, 2017
Mr.
President, I want to take this opportunity to remind my colleagues that April
is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month. We commemorate it each year to
bring public awareness to the staggering problem of sexual violence.
Tens
of thousands of people in the United States, and hundreds of my fellow Iowans,
annually fall victim to this heinous crime. Sexual assault occurs at least
every minute and a half, according to law enforcement statistics. These same
figures reveal an increase in rape cases since 2011, contrary to claims by the
former Obama administration that the violent crime rate had declined in recent
years.
But
up to two-thirds of sexual assaults are never reported to police, say crime
victim advocates. This means that the average perpetrator strikes multiple
times before being brought to justice. Equally as troubling, the incarceration
rate is less than one percent of all sexual assaults reported to law
enforcement.
The
FBI ranks rape as one of the two most violent crimes, second only to murder in
its effects. Survivors suffer not only physical consequences, but sometimes
life-shattering emotional effects as well. According to the Rape Abuse and
Incest National Network as well as the National Alliance to End Sexual
Violence, post-traumatic stress disorder is typical. Depression or even suicide
are not uncommon. The healing process is often slow and painstaking.
Today,
I introduced a bipartisan resolution to commemorate Sexual Assault Awareness
Month and honor the survivors of this heinous crime. I thank Senators Feinstein
and Ernst for joining me as cosponsors of the resolution.
During
my time as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, we’ve made crime
survivors rights a top priority. Two years ago, we passed, and the President
signed, major legislation to benefit the survivors of human trafficking. Last
year, the President also signed the House version of a survivors’ bill of
rights that our Committee reported as part of the Adam Walsh Reauthorization
Act. And we approved legislation to extend programs that support the analysis
of sexual assault evidence by the nation’s crime labs.
Supporting
and protecting survivors of sexual violence will continue to be a focus for our
Committee in 2017. Last month, I convened a hearing to examine allegations that
dozens of young athletes experienced sexual abuse at the hands of coaches,
instructors, and others. I recently joined our Committee’s ranking member,
Senator Feinstein, in introducing the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual
Abuse Act. The bill’s purpose is to ensure that sexual assault allegations
by young athletes will be reported and investigated promptly. This year, we’ll
also make it a priority to extend and update programs that are authorized under
the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
Mr.
President, I will close by reaffirming my support for survivors of sexual
violence and expressing my continued commitment to advocate for them. I urge my
colleagues to join me in supporting passage of the resolution I’ve introduced
today.
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