Enrolled HCR 20: Proclaiming the month of April 2010 to be Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
00Enrolled HCR 20 01 Proclaiming the month of April 2010 to be Sexual Assault Awareness Month. 02 _______________ 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 it is estimated that one in three women, one in four girls, one in six boys, 09 and one in 11 men will report being victims of sexual violence; and 10 WHEREAS the crime of sexual assault violates an individual's privacy, dignity, 11 security, and humanity, and leaves long-lasting physical and emotional scars that can 12 influence every aspect of an individual's life; and 13 WHEREAS this state, at 2.6 times the national average, continues to have the highest 14 per capita occurrence of sexual assault in the nation, and it is important that sexual assault be 15 recognized as a problem of epidemic proportions in every community, urban, rural, and 16 remote, in the state; and 17 WHEREAS speaking out against sexual assault is an important first step toward
01 eliminating this devastating crime; and 02 WHEREAS it is important to recognize the compassion, commitment, and dedication 03 of the individuals who provide services to sexual assault survivors and work to increase 04 public understanding of this major problem; and 05 WHEREAS, because one person, organization, agency, or community cannot by itself 06 eliminate sexual violence, the citizens of Alaska need to work together to educate the entire 07 population of the state about what can be done to eliminate sexual assault, to support victims, 08 survivors, and their families, and to personally increase support for agencies that provide 09 services to these survivors; by uniting in this effort, the citizens of this state can make a 10 difference; 11 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature proclaims the month of 12 April 2010 to be Sexual Assault Awareness Month and encourages all of the citizens of the 13 state to observe Sexual Assault Awareness Month by speaking out against sexual assault, 14 listening to those who have been harmed, and letting others know that sexual assault will not 15 be tolerated.