Expressing support for the designation of September 2019 as National Campus Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 600 Expressing support for the designation of September 2019 as National Campus Sexual Assault Awareness Month. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 Ms. NORTON submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform RESOLUTION Expressing support for the designation of September 2019 as National Campus Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Whereas colleges and universities are now receiving students for the academic year; Whereas 19 percent of college women and 6 percent of college men will be victims of sexual assault over the course of their undergraduate careers, with little or no change to this high rate annually; Whereas freshmen and sophomores in college are at a greater risk of being sexually assaulted than juniors or seniors; Whereas college students are at a higher risk of sexual as- sault during the first few months of school, with more than 50 percent of college sexual assaults occurring in ei- ther August, September, October, or November; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Sep 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR600.IH HR600 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 600 IH Whereas 3 in 4 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) college students have experienced sexual harass- ment and 9 percent of LGBT college students have expe- rienced sexual assault; Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that both middle school and high school students are increasingly experiencing sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual violence, with 30 percent of female sexual assault victims reporting that they were first at- tacked between the ages of 11 and 17; Whereas many college students are victims of ‘‘incapacitated assault’’, in which they are sexually assaulted while drugged, drunk, passed out, or otherwise incapacitated; Whereas these victims often know their attackers; Whereas less than 5 percent of rapes and attempted rapes of college students are reported to campus authorities or local law enforcement; Whereas college sexual assault victims are likely to tell some- one they know, most often a friend, about their victimiza- tion experience; Whereas 40 percent of college sexual assault survivors feared reprisal by the perpetrator; Whereas less than 5 percent of college men account for 90 to 95 percent of the rapes on college campuses; Whereas many college sexual assault victims fear poor treat- ment by campus or law enforcement authorities, or even lack knowledge of the reporting process; Whereas approximately 8 percent of colleges and universities still do not allow confidential reporting of sexual assaults to campus authorities; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Sep 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR600.IH HR600 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 600 IH Whereas 21 percent of colleges and universities provide no sexual assault response training for members of their fac- ulty and staff; Whereas more than 30 percent of colleges and universities do not provide any sexual assault training for students; Whereas approximately 41 percent of colleges and universities have not conducted a single sexual assault investigation in the last 5 years; Whereas more than 90 percent of colleges and universities state that sexual assault victims on their campuses have access to community victim assistance and advocacy pro- grams, yet only 51 percent of the colleges and univer- sities reported utilizing these services in their team ap- proach; Whereas most colleges and universities fail to provide access to a specially trained Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE); Whereas law enforcement officials at 30 percent of colleges and universities receive no training on how to respond to reports of sexual violence; Whereas more than 70 percent of colleges and universities do not have protocols regarding how the institution and local law enforcement should work together to respond to sex- ual violence; Whereas 33 percent of colleges and universities failed to pro- vide training to dispel ‘‘rape myths’’ to persons adjudi- cating sexual assault claims; Whereas 43 percent of the Nation’s largest colleges and uni- versities have students assisting in adjudicating sexual assault cases, which creates privacy and conflict of inter- est concerns; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Sep 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR600.IH HR600 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 600 IH Whereas 22 percent of colleges and universities allow athletic department oversight of sexual violence cases involving student athletes; Whereas more than 10 percent of colleges and universities do not have a title IX coordinator, as required by Federal law; Whereas many college sexual assault victims experience con- fusion over how to report a sexual assault, are unsure of acceptable standards of sexual conduct and definitions of rape and sexual assault, and fear punishment for activi- ties preceding some sexual assaults, such as underage drinking; Whereas only 16 percent of colleges and universities reported conducting confidential climate surveys regarding behav- iors that constitute or are associated with sexual assault; Whereas only 22 percent of colleges and universities provide sexual violence training targeted at the Greek system and only 37 percent provide training targeted at student ath- letes; Whereas 21 percent of the Nation’s largest private colleges and universities reported not independently investigating all claims of sexual assault that they conveyed to the De- partment of Education; Whereas only 10 to 25 percent of the perpetrators of college sexual assaults were permanently expelled; Whereas only 10 percent of reported college rape cases result in criminal charges against the defendant; Whereas victims of campus sexual assaults are more likely to make changes in their lives, such as changing a college major, changing campus housing, and dropping a class, as a result of the victimization; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Sep 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR600.IH HR600 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HRES 600 IH Whereas over 90 percent of colleges and universities do not have an affirmative consent policy regarding sexual rela- tions; Whereas the Trump administration has undermined key pro- tections against campus sexual assault provided by title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972; and Whereas September 2019 is an appropriate month to des- ignate as National Campus Sexual Assault Awareness Month: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives supports 1 the designation of National Campus Sexual Assault 2 Awareness Month. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Sep 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR600.IH HR600 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS