HCR 6-SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH  9:43:14 AM CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI announced the next order of business would be HCR 6, proclaiming the month of April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month. REPRESENTATIVE MIA COSTELLO, sponsor of HCR 6, said this resolution declares the month of April 2011 in Alaska to be Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Every year since 2007, the legislature has declared a month to be Sexual Assault Awareness Month. There are alarming statistics surrounding sexual assault in Alaska; one in three women, one in four girls, one in four boys, and one man out of every 11 will be a victim of sexual assault in their lifetimes. This resolution intends to provide heightened awareness around this issue; it allows service providers to focus on the issue for one month. 9:45:30 AM CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI opened public testimony, and asked that witnesses limit their testimony to two minutes. 9:45:49 AM RICK SVOBODNY, Deputy Attorney General, Criminal Division, Department of Law (DOL), said he speaks for the administration throughout all departments in strong support of HCR 6. He had prepared remarks but said the chair and the sponsor had already referred to them. The more awareness we have about this problem, the more likely we will be able to solve it. DOL plays just one small part of the puzzle in fixing this problem; their part is holding offenders accountable. Resolution of the problem requires a holistic approach to changing the culture. This is similar to drunk driving or smoking. We made cultural changes in these areas, and we can do the same with sexual assault. 9:47:33 AM] CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI asked if the administration supports the reestablishment of the Alaska Women's Commission. MR. SVOBODNY said he did not know. CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI asked if he could have that information available for the next meeting. 9:47:58 AM PEGGY BROWN, Executive Director, Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, said we stand on the shoulders of the women who testified previously. Domestic violence and sexual assault are difficult issues to talk about. There is a common public misperception about how sexual assault plays out in our state. This contributes to the shame and stigma and victim blaming that happens. People don't want to believe perpetrators could be someone within their own circle of family and friends; this is something people don't want to deal with. Ten percent of high school students in Alaska have experienced some type of sexual violence in their lives. Last year in Alaska, 10,600 adult women were victims of sexual violence. Alaska needs to make sure that we are publicly educating people and allowing space to talk about this issue. 9:50:26 AM CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI closed public testimony and set HCR 6 aside for future hearing.