00          HOUSE CS FOR SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 2(RLS)                                                          
01 Proclaiming April 2017 and April 2018 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month;                                                
02 proclaiming April 2017 and April 2018 as Child Abuse Prevention Month; and                                              
03 proclaiming April 7, 2017, and April 6, 2018, as Go Blue Friday.                                                        
04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
05 WHEREAS sexual assault affects women, children, and men of all racial, cultural,                                      
06 and economic backgrounds and occurs through acquaintance rape, stranger rape, sexual                                    
07 assault by a partner, child sexual abuse, incest, sexual harassment, prostitution, and                                  
08 pornography; and                                                                                                        
09       WHEREAS the crime of sexual assault violates an individual's privacy, dignity,                                  
10 security, and humanity and leaves long-lasting physical and emotional scars that can influence                          
11 every aspect of an individual's life; and                                                                               
12       WHEREAS results from the 2015 Alaska Victimization Survey show an estimated                                     
13 33.1 out of every 100 Alaska women have experienced sexual assault within their lifetime;                               
14 and                                                                                                                     
15       WHEREAS results from the 2015 Alaska Victimization Survey reflect alcohol- or                                   
16 drug-involved sexual violence dropped from 26.8 percent in the 2010 survey to 22.6 percent;                             

01 and                                                                                                                     
02       WHEREAS, despite tremendous progress, Alaska still has the highest rates of sexual                              
03 violence in the nation; and                                                                                             
04       WHEREAS 2,126 children were evaluated by child advocacy centers in the state for                                
05 possible sexual abuse last year; and                                                                                    
06       WHEREAS 1,625 adult victims of sexual assault sought services at rape crisis centers                            
07 in the state last year; and                                                                                             
08       WHEREAS it is important to recognize the compassion, commitment, and dedication                                 
09 of the individuals who provide services to sexual assault survivors and work to reduce and                              
10 eliminate sexual violence; and                                                                                          
11 WHEREAS, in 2016, 16 communities--Anchorage, Barrow, Bethel, Cordova,                                                 
12 Dillingham, Eielson Air Force Base, Fairbanks, Fort Wainwright, Juneau, Kodiak, Kotzebue,                               
13 Nome, Palmer, Seward, Unalaska, and Valdez--have sexual assault response teams to                                       
14 investigate more effectively crimes of sexual violence; and                                                             
15 WHEREAS research indicates the need to develop comprehensive sexual violence                                          
16 prevention programs that target multiple, interacting risk and protective factors in                                    
17 behaviorally relevant ways; and                                                                                         
18 WHEREAS communities across the state are taking up the challenge, implementing                                        
19 evidence-based prevention programs, such as Girls on the Run, Coaching Boys into Men, and                               
20 Green Dot Alaska; and                                                                                                   
21 WHEREAS, because one person, organization, agency, or community cannot, by                                            
22 itself, eliminate sexual violence, the citizens of Alaska need to work together to educate the                          
23 entire population of the state about what can be done to eliminate sexual assault; and                                  
24 WHEREAS schools across the state are implementing the Fourth R-healthy                                                
25 relationships curriculum in grades seven through nine, which has been shown to reduce                                   
26 adherence to rape myths and to enhance social and emotional learning focusing on self-                                  
27 management and responsible decision-making; and                                                                         
28 WHEREAS positive healthy male role models are engaging boys through programs                                          
29 such as COMPASS to explore and adopt concepts of masculinity that include respect for                                   
30 women and nonviolent models of manhood; and                                                                             
31 WHEREAS victims, survivors, and their families deserve support; by uniting in this                                    

01 effort, the citizens of this state can make a difference; last year over 3,100 volunteers devoted                       
02 48,483 hours of service in the state; and                                                                               
03       WHEREAS the state currently has one of the five highest rates of child abuse in the                             
04 United States; and                                                                                                      
05       WHEREAS, in fiscal year 2015, the Department of Health and Social Services,                                     
06 Office of Children's Services, received more than 40,000 allegations of harm involving tens of                          
07 thousands of children; and                                                                                              
08       WHEREAS, for every 1,000 children in the state, 42 are victims of abuse; and                                    
09       WHEREAS more than 2,000 children in the state have been removed from unsafe                                     
10 homes and placed in foster care; and                                                                                    
11 WHEREAS child abuse and neglect leave cross-generational damage resulting in                                          
12 approximately 30 percent of abused or neglected children who will grow up to abuse or                                   
13 neglect their children; and                                                                                             
14 WHEREAS 36 percent of all women in prison and 14 percent of all men in prison                                         
15 were abused or neglected as children; and                                                                               
16 WHEREAS children who experience child abuse or neglect are about nine times                                           
17 more likely to become involved in criminal activity than children who do not experience child                           
18 abuse or neglect; and                                                                                                   
19 WHEREAS the long-term effects of child abuse include improper brain formation, an                                     
20 inability to trust, low self-esteem, and an increased vulnerability to post-traumatic stress                            
21 disorder, sexually transmitted diseases, heart disease, cancer, and depression; and                                     
22 WHEREAS every child deserves a loving family, a safe home, and the opportunity to                                     
23 grow into an upstanding and responsible member of society; and                                                          
24 WHEREAS we must work together to support the efforts of all those who take                                            
25 children into their homes and hearts because the community as a whole suffers in every case                             
26 of child abuse and neglect;                                                                                             
27 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature proclaims April 2017 and                                             
28 April 2018 to be Sexual Assault Awareness Month and encourages all of the residents of the                              
29 state to observe Sexual Assault Awareness Month by taking action to prevent sexual violence;                            
30 and be it                                                                                                               
31 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature proclaims April 2017 and                                           

01 April 2018 to be Child Abuse Prevention Month in the state; and be it                                                   
02 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature proclaims April 7, 2017,                                           
03 and April 6, 2018, as Go Blue Friday, a day to wear blue, the official color of prevention, and                         
04 to work to keep the state's children safe and encourages all state employees and other                                  
05 residents of the state to participate; and be it                                                                        
06       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature supports and encourages                                      
07 all state employees and other residents of the state to support child abuse prevention and                              
08 education efforts.