| 1 | | - | Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 56 CHAPTER 55Relative to sexual assault. [ Filed with Secretary of State May 19, 2017. ] LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTACR 56, Reyes. Sexual Assault Awareness Month: Denim Day California.This measure would designate the month of April 2017 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and would recognize April 26, 2017, as Denim Day California.Digest Key Fiscal Committee: NO Bill TextWHEREAS, In 2015, California rape crisis centers provided direct crisis intervention services to 32,931 individuals, provided 7,533 sexual assault forensic examinations, and provided community education for almost 20,400 people; andWHEREAS, People of all genders and ages are victims of sexual assault, and it is estimated that nearly one in two women and one in five men experience sexual violence other than rape throughout their lifetime; andWHEREAS, The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey reports that there are over 22 million survivors of rape throughout the United States and 2 million of those rape survivors are currently living in the State of California; andWHEREAS, Rape and sexual assault impact people of all racial, cultural, and economic backgrounds; andWHEREAS, People of all genders and ages suffer multiple types of sexual violence, including acquaintance rape, stranger rape, sexual assault by an intimate partner, gang rape, incest, serial rape, ritual abuse, sexual harassment, child sexual molestation, prostitution, pornography, and stalking; andWHEREAS, In addition to the immediate physical and emotional costs, sexual assault survivors too frequently suffer from severe and long-lasting consequences, such as posttraumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, major depression, homelessness, eating disorders, low self-esteem, and suicide; andWHEREAS, The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified sexual assault as a significant, costly, and preventable health issue; andWHEREAS, A coalition of rape crisis centers and their allies, known as the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault, has emerged to directly confront this crisis with the cooperation of law enforcement agencies, health care providers, institutions of higher education, and other allied professionals from Californias diverse communities; andWHEREAS, It is our responsibility to support all rape survivors by treating them with dignity, compassion, and respect; andWHEREAS, It is important to recognize the compassion and dedication of the individuals involved in this effort, applaud their commitment to foster healing, and increase public understanding of this significant problem; andWHEREAS, It is important to recognize the strength, courage, and challenges of the victims and survivors of sexual assault and their families and friends as they struggle to cope with the reality of sexual assault; andWHEREAS, It is important to recognize that not all victims of sexual assault survive, either at the time of the assault or later, due to the horrific long-term trauma that sexual assault often inflicts upon victims; andWHEREAS, There are rape prevention and education efforts underway throughout California to challenge the societal myths and behaviors that perpetuate rape and to engage communities in a common goal of ending sexual assault; andWHEREAS, It is crucial to hold perpetrators responsible for sexual attacks, and to prevent sexual violence at every opportunity; andWHEREAS, In 1998, the Italian Supreme Court overturned the conviction of a man who sexually assaulted an 18-year-old woman after the court determined that, because the victim wore very, very tight jeans, she had to help him remove them, and by removing the jeans it was no longer rape but consensual sex; andWHEREAS, Enraged by the court decision, within a matter of hours, the women in the Italian Parliament launched into immediate action and protested by wearing jeans to work; andWHEREAS, Nations and states throughout the world have followed the lead of the Italian Parliament by designating their own Denim Day to raise public awareness about rape and sexual assault; andWHEREAS, Harmful attitudes about rape and sexual assault allow these crimes to persist and allow survivors to be revictimized through victim-blaming attitudes and unresponsive government systems; andWHEREAS, California is a national leader within the judicial, criminal justice, medical, rape crisis, and health communities in promoting victim-centered approaches to victims of crime; now, therefore, be itResolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature designates the month of April 2017 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month; and be it furtherResolved, That the Legislature recognizes April 26, 2017, as Denim Day California and encourages everyone to wear jeans on that day to help communicate the message that there is no excuse for and never an invitation to commit, rape; and be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution. |
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| 1 | + | Enrolled May 17, 2017 Passed IN Senate May 15, 2017 Passed IN Assembly April 24, 2017 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20172018 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 56Introduced by Assembly Member Reyes(Coauthors: Assembly Members Acosta, Aguiar-Curry, Travis Allen, Arambula, Baker, Berman, Bigelow, Bloom, Bocanegra, Bonta, Brough, Burke, Caballero, Cervantes, Chau, Chen, Chiu, Choi, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Cunningham, Dahle, Daly, Eggman, Flora, Fong, Frazier, Friedman, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gipson, Gloria, Gomez, Gonzalez Fletcher, Gray, Grayson, Harper, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Kiley, Lackey, Levine, Limn, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Patterson, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Reyes, Rodriguez, Rubio, Salas, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Voepel, Waldron, Weber, and Wood)April 17, 2017Relative to sexual assault.LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTACR 56, Reyes. Sexual Assault Awareness Month: Denim Day California.This measure would designate the month of April 2017 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and would recognize April 26, 2017, as Denim Day California.Digest Key Fiscal Committee: NO Bill TextWHEREAS, In 2015, California rape crisis centers provided direct crisis intervention services to 32,931 individuals, provided 7,533 sexual assault forensic examinations, and provided community education for almost 20,400 people; andWHEREAS, People of all genders and ages are victims of sexual assault, and it is estimated that nearly one in two women and one in five men experience sexual violence other than rape throughout their lifetime; andWHEREAS, The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey reports that there are over 22 million survivors of rape throughout the United States and 2 million of those rape survivors are currently living in the State of California; andWHEREAS, Rape and sexual assault impact people of all racial, cultural, and economic backgrounds; andWHEREAS, People of all genders and ages suffer multiple types of sexual violence, including acquaintance rape, stranger rape, sexual assault by an intimate partner, gang rape, incest, serial rape, ritual abuse, sexual harassment, child sexual molestation, prostitution, pornography, and stalking; andWHEREAS, In addition to the immediate physical and emotional costs, sexual assault survivors too frequently suffer from severe and long-lasting consequences, such as posttraumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, major depression, homelessness, eating disorders, low self-esteem, and suicide; andWHEREAS, The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified sexual assault as a significant, costly, and preventable health issue; andWHEREAS, A coalition of rape crisis centers and their allies, known as the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault, has emerged to directly confront this crisis with the cooperation of law enforcement agencies, health care providers, institutions of higher education, and other allied professionals from Californias diverse communities; andWHEREAS, It is our responsibility to support all rape survivors by treating them with dignity, compassion, and respect; andWHEREAS, It is important to recognize the compassion and dedication of the individuals involved in this effort, applaud their commitment to foster healing, and increase public understanding of this significant problem; andWHEREAS, It is important to recognize the strength, courage, and challenges of the victims and survivors of sexual assault and their families and friends as they struggle to cope with the reality of sexual assault; andWHEREAS, It is important to recognize that not all victims of sexual assault survive, either at the time of the assault or later, due to the horrific long-term trauma that sexual assault often inflicts upon victims; andWHEREAS, There are rape prevention and education efforts underway throughout California to challenge the societal myths and behaviors that perpetuate rape and to engage communities in a common goal of ending sexual assault; andWHEREAS, It is crucial to hold perpetrators responsible for sexual attacks, and to prevent sexual violence at every opportunity; andWHEREAS, In 1998, the Italian Supreme Court overturned the conviction of a man who sexually assaulted an 18-year-old woman after the court determined that, because the victim wore very, very tight jeans, she had to help him remove them, and by removing the jeans it was no longer rape but consensual sex; andWHEREAS, Enraged by the court decision, within a matter of hours, the women in the Italian Parliament launched into immediate action and protested by wearing jeans to work; andWHEREAS, Nations and states throughout the world have followed the lead of the Italian Parliament by designating their own Denim Day to raise public awareness about rape and sexual assault; andWHEREAS, Harmful attitudes about rape and sexual assault allow these crimes to persist and allow survivors to be revictimized through victim-blaming attitudes and unresponsive government systems; andWHEREAS, California is a national leader within the judicial, criminal justice, medical, rape crisis, and health communities in promoting victim-centered approaches to victims of crime; now, therefore, be itResolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature designates the month of April 2017 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month; and be it furtherResolved, That the Legislature recognizes April 26, 2017, as Denim Day California and encourages everyone to wear jeans on that day to help communicate the message that there is no excuse for and never an invitation to commit, rape; and be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution. |
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