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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Sexual assault is a violent crime and has
3devastating safety and health implications for every person in
4Illinois, whether they are a victim, survivor, family member,
5loved one, friend, neighbor, or co-worker of a victim; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The nation's largest anti-sexual violence
7organization, Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN)
8found that one out of every six American women has been the
9victim of an attempted or completed sexual assault in her
10lifetime, and one in every 33 American men have experienced an
11attempted or completed sexual assault in his lifetime; and
 
12    WHEREAS, The Illinois Criminal Justice Information
13Authority and the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault
14(ICASA) found that more than 37,000 victims of sexual violence
15received services from an ICASA rape crisis center in Illinois
16between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2015; and
 
17    WHEREAS, The data from ICASA shows that an average of
1810,200 victims were served annually; 60 percent of these
19victims were adults and 40 percent were children aged 17 years
20or younger; and
 
21    WHEREAS, In addition, ICASA's rape crisis centers

 

 

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1responded to more than 42,000 requests from anonymous
2individuals for crisis intervention service during the period
3of 2010 through 2015, and averaged 8,500 visits per year; and
 
4    WHEREAS, End Violence Against Women International has
5developed a public awareness campaign entitled "Start by
6Believing," a message that, in part, confronts the reality that
7many victims do not get the support they need when they do
8report a crime; and
 
9    WHEREAS, It is important for the State of Illinois to
10support this message and victims of sexual assault, so that
11they may heal; therefore, be it
 
12    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
13HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
14declare April 4, 2018 as "Start by Believing Day" in the State
15of Illinois.