HR1177 LRB095 20754 GRL 49273 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Sexual assault is an ongoing problem that is being
3 fought against vigorously by local, State, national, and
4 international groups; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Sexual violence refers to unwanted or coercive
6 sexual behavior from sexual bullying to rape; the terms rape,
7 sexual assault, and sexual abuse are often used interchangeably
8 and refer to coercive, forced sexual contact; women and men of
9 all ages, as well as children, can be victimized by sexual
10 assault; the physical and psychological effects caused by such
11 violence might take years to recover from; and
 
12     WHEREAS, On the national level, sexual violence is a
13 prolific and frightening occurrence; nationally, almost 18%,
14 or 17.7 million women, in the United States have been victims
15 of rape or attempted rape sometime in their lives; one in every
16 three girls and one in six boys are sexually abused before the
17 age of 18; 1.3 women age 18 and over in the United States are
18 forcibly raped each minute, equal to 78 per hour, 1,871 per
19 day, or 683,000 per year; and
 
20     WHEREAS, The State of Illinois must contend with the same
21 problem within its borders; one out of every seven adult women,
22 or more than 670,000 adult women in Illinois, has been the

 

 

HR1177 - 2 - LRB095 20754 GRL 49273 r

1 victim of forcible rape sometime in her lifetime; and
 
2     WHEREAS, One of the most frightening statistics regarding
3 sexual violence is that 59 percent of sexual assaults
4 nationwide are not reported to law enforcement; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Increased awareness regarding the widespread
6 instances of sexual violence and the ways to prevent future
7 occurrences is an essential factor in the fight against sexual
8 violence in our society; therefore, be it
 
9     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
10 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
11 designate the month of April 2008 as Sexual Assault Awareness
12 Month in the State of Illinois in recognition of this ongoing
13 threat to our society.