00 HOUSE CS FOR SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 2(2d RLS) 01 Proclaiming April 2018 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month; proclaiming April 2018 as 02 Child Abuse Prevention Month; and proclaiming April 6, 2018, as Go Blue Friday. 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 WHEREAS sexual assault affects women, children, and men of all racial, cultural, 05 and economic backgrounds and occurs through acquaintance rape, stranger rape, sexual 06 assault by a partner, child sexual abuse, incest, sexual harassment, prostitution, and 07 pornography; and 08 WHEREAS the crime of sexual assault violates an individual's privacy, dignity, 09 security, and humanity and leaves long-lasting physical and emotional scars that can influence 10 every aspect of an individual's life; and 11 WHEREAS results from the 2015 Alaska Victimization Survey show an estimated 12 33.1 out of every 100 Alaska women have experienced sexual assault within their lifetime; 13 and 14 WHEREAS results from the 2015 Alaska Victimization Survey reflect alcohol- or 15 drug-involved sexual violence dropped from 26.8 percent in the 2010 survey to 22.6 percent; 16 and 17 WHEREAS, despite tremendous progress, Alaska still has the highest rates of sexual 01 violence in the nation; and 02 WHEREAS 2,126 children were evaluated by child advocacy centers in the state for 03 possible sexual abuse last year; and 04 WHEREAS 1,625 adult victims of sexual assault sought services at rape crisis centers 05 in the state last year; and 06 WHEREAS it is important to recognize the compassion, commitment, and dedication 07 of the individuals who provide services to sexual assault survivors and work to reduce and 08 eliminate sexual violence; and 09 WHEREAS, in 2016, 16 communities--Anchorage, Barrow, Bethel, Cordova, 10 Dillingham, Eielson Air Force Base, Fairbanks, Fort Wainwright, Juneau, Kodiak, Kotzebue, 11 Nome, Palmer, Seward, Unalaska, and Valdez--have sexual assault response teams to 12 investigate more effectively crimes of sexual violence; and 13 WHEREAS research indicates the need to develop comprehensive sexual violence 14 prevention programs that target multiple, interacting risk and protective factors in 15 behaviorally relevant ways; and 16 WHEREAS communities across the state are taking up the challenge, implementing 17 evidence-based prevention programs, such as Girls on the Run, Coaching Boys into Men, and 18 Green Dot Alaska; and 19 WHEREAS, because one person, organization, agency, or community cannot, by 20 itself, eliminate sexual violence, the citizens of Alaska need to work together to educate the 21 entire population of the state about what can be done to eliminate sexual assault; and 22 WHEREAS schools across the state are implementing the Fourth R-healthy 23 relationships curriculum in grades seven through nine, which has been shown to reduce 24 adherence to rape myths and to enhance social and emotional learning focusing on self- 25 management and responsible decision-making; and 26 WHEREAS positive healthy male role models are engaging boys through programs 27 such as COMPASS to explore and adopt concepts of masculinity that include respect for 28 women and nonviolent models of manhood; and 29 WHEREAS victims, survivors, and their families deserve support; by uniting in this 30 effort, the citizens of this state can make a difference; last year over 3,100 volunteers devoted 31 48,483 hours of service in the state; and 01 WHEREAS the state currently has one of the five highest rates of child abuse in the 02 United States; and 03 WHEREAS taking the life of an innocent preborn child through abortion is the 04 ultimate form of child abuse, and, in 2016, according to the Department of Health and Social 05 Services, the lives of at least 556 Alaska preborn children were taken through the State of 06 Alaska medical assistance and Denali KidCare programs; and 07 WHEREAS, in 2016, 75 percent of the Alaska preborn children whose lives were 08 taken through abortion whose mothers were 14 years of age or younger were taken through 09 the Denali KidCare program; and 10 WHEREAS, in fiscal year 2015, the Department of Health and Social Services, 11 Office of Children's Services, received more than 40,000 allegations of harm involving tens of 12 thousands of children; and 13 WHEREAS, for every 1,000 children in the state, 42 are victims of abuse; and 14 WHEREAS more than 2,000 children in the state have been removed from unsafe 15 homes and placed in foster care; and 16 WHEREAS child abuse and neglect leave cross-generational damage resulting in 17 approximately 30 percent of abused or neglected children who will grow up to abuse or 18 neglect their children; and 19 WHEREAS 36 percent of all women in prison and 14 percent of all men in prison 20 were abused or neglected as children; and 21 WHEREAS children who experience child abuse or neglect are about nine times 22 more likely to become involved in criminal activity than children who do not experience child 23 abuse or neglect; and 24 WHEREAS the long-term effects of child abuse include improper brain formation, an 25 inability to trust, low self-esteem, and an increased vulnerability to post-traumatic stress 26 disorder, sexually transmitted diseases, heart disease, cancer, and depression; and 27 WHEREAS every child deserves a loving family, a safe home, and the opportunity to 28 grow into an upstanding and responsible member of society; and 29 WHEREAS we must work together to support the efforts of all those who take 30 children into their homes and hearts because the community as a whole suffers in every case 31 of child abuse and neglect; 01 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature proclaims April 2018 to be 02 Sexual Assault Awareness Month and encourages all of the residents of the state to observe 03 Sexual Assault Awareness Month by taking action to prevent sexual violence; and be it 04 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature proclaims April 2018 to 05 be Child Abuse Prevention Month in the state; and be it 06 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature proclaims April 6, 2018, 07 as Go Blue Friday, a day to wear blue, the official color of prevention, and to work to keep 08 the state's children safe and encourages all state employees and other residents of the state to 09 participate; and be it 10 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports and encourages 11 all state employees and other residents of the state to support child abuse prevention and 12 education efforts.