IT’S OFFICIAL: NATIONAL SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS & PREVENTION MONTH BECOMES LAW

With the stroke of President Bush’s pen, on June 26, it became official: National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month is now the law of the land. This marks the first time SAAPM has been officially recognized by the president or Congress.

S.J. Res. 8, which was passed unanimously by both houses of Congress, expresses “the sense of Congress with respect to raising awareness and encouraging prevention of sexual assault in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.”

The bill salutes the hard work that hundreds of thousands of people have contributed to help prevent sexual assault and assist victims. It also notes the importance of efforts to increase the number of prosecutions and pays tribute to the more than 20 million Americans who have been victims of sexual assault. The resolution also lauds the help available to victims through the National Sexual Assault Hotline, which is operated by RAINN, and more than 1,000 rape crisis centers, and the work these organizations do to educate the public and reduce the number of attacks.

Now that it is law (Public Law No. 108-38, to be exact), SAAPM will remain on the books; unlike a proclamation, it does not have to be re-issued each year.

RAINN led the effort to draft and pass this legislation, and worked closely with the chief Congressional sponsors, Sens. Sam Brownback (R-KS), Joseph Biden (D-DE), Mike DeWine (R-OH), and Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Reps. Mark Green (R-WI) and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY). We are grateful to these members and their staffs for their leadership and work in support of the bill, and also grateful to Judiciary Chairmen James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and President Bush for their strong support.

To read or download the SAAPM resolution, please visit http://www.rainn.org/saapm.html.

Excerpted from RAINNews, August 2003

PAST RAINN NEWS COLUMNS:

• White House Proposes 5-Year, $1 Billion Plan for DNA
• Rape & Sexual Assault Down by Half Since '93
• New Data Show Rapes Down, Reports of Rape Up
• At Least 180,000 Rape Evidence Kits Backlogged, Awaiting DNA Lab Analysis
• RAINN Law: Consenting Adults: Q&A
• Rape Plummeted in 2000, Says Justice Department
• Every 90 Seconds, Somewhere in America, Someone is Sexually Assaulted
• Rape and Sexual Assault Up Again in 1999, Continue to Buck National Crime

The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network is the nation's largest anti-sexual assault organization. With a national perspective and broad reach, RAINN is a trusted resource for media, policymakers and the public. Additionally, RAINN operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1.800.656.HOPE. Comprised of more than 1,000 local affiliates, the hotline has helped more than half a million victims of sexual assault since 1994. For more information, please visit the RAINN website at www.rainn.org