HLS 24RS-1506 ENGROSSED
2024 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 103
BY REPRESENTATIVE MOORE
HEALTH: Requests the Department of Children and Family Services to study the
feasibility of implementing a 233 helpline as an additional resource for sexual abuse
victims in this state
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To urge and request the Department of Children and Family Services to study the feasibility
3 of implementing a 233 helpline as an additional resource for sexual abuse victims in
4 this state.
5 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Department of Health identifies unwanted exposure to
6sexually explicit material, language, or contact as sexual abuse; and
7 WHEREAS, the Newcomb Institute at Tulane University conducted the Louisiana
8Study on Violence Experiences Across the Lifespan (LaVEX) during the summer of 2023
9and surveyed more than one thousand adults across the state on a comprehensive range of
10experiences of violence, which included instances of verbal abuse, cyberbullying, sexual
11assault, and gun violence; and
12 WHEREAS, according to the LaVEX study, forty-one percent of adults in Louisiana
13have experienced sexual violence or harassment in their lifetime, twenty-nine percent of
14adults in Louisiana have been verbally sexually harassed, and eleven percent of adults in
15Louisiana have experienced sexual assault; and
16 WHEREAS, the LaVEX study also found that women often experienced such abuse
17at the hands of a romantic or sexual partner; and
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HCR NO. 103
1 WHEREAS, forty-two percent of women have experienced physical or sexual
2violence from a partner with only ten percent of these women reporting their partner; and
3 WHEREAS, organizations like the Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault
4(LaFASA), the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), and Sexual Trauma
5Awareness & Response (STAR) exist to address sexual abuse concerns in this state and offer
6resources to survivors; and
7 WHEREAS, such sexual abuse initiatives provide support services to survivors and
8statewide sexual assault crisis centers through education, professional training, technical
9assistance, and community engagement; and
10 WHEREAS, the Department of Children and Family Services has implemented a
11hotline for child abuse and neglect, which includes reports of sexual trafficking; and
12 WHEREAS, expansion of such services could be beneficial to Louisiana residents
13who are currently facing or have faced sexual abuse, reported or otherwise; and
14 WHEREAS, the Department of Children and Family Services should research and
15consider the implementation of a 233 helpline as an additional resource for sexual abuse
16victims in this state.
17 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
18urge and request the Department of Children and Family Services to study the feasibility of
19implementing a 233 helpline as an additional resource for sexual abuse victims in this state
20and submit its findings in the form of a written report by February 1, 2025 to the House and
21Senate committees on health and welfare.
22 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the report shall include information about means
23of funding for creating a helpline and determining costs for a marketing campaign to boost
24awareness of the 233 helpline initiative.
25 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
26secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services.
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HCR NO. 103
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 103 Engrossed 2024 Regular Session Moore
Requests the Dept. of Children and Family Services to study the feasibility of implementing
a 233 helpline as an additional resource for sexual abuse victims in this state.
Requests a written report of its findings to be submitted to the House and Senate committees
on health and welfare by Feb. 1, 2025.
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