BILL NUMBER: SCR 22	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER  55
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  JUNE 26, 2013
	ADOPTED IN SENATE  APRIL 22, 2013
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 20, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Evans
   (Coauthors: Senators Block, Cannella, Correa, DeSaulnier, Fuller,
Hancock, Hill, Huff, Jackson, Leno, Lieu, Monning, Padilla, Pavley,
Price, Steinberg, and Yee)
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, Ammiano, Blumenfield,
Brown, Chesbro, Fox, Frazier, Garcia, Gordon, Hall, Lowenthal,
Mitchell, Mullin, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ting, and Wilk)

                        MARCH 12, 2013

   Relative to Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Denim Day
California.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SCR 22, Evans. Sexual Assault Awareness Month: Denim Day
California.
   This measure would designate the month of April 2013 as Sexual
Assault Awareness Month, would recognize April 24, 2013, as Denim Day
California, and would encourage 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.



   WHEREAS, In 2011, there were 7,763 reported cases of forcible rape
in California; and
   WHEREAS, In 2011, California rape crisis centers provided direct
crisis intervention services to 29,292 individuals, provided 6,473
sexual assault forensic examinations, and provided community
education services for more than 127,000 people; and
   WHEREAS, According to the National Intimate Partner and Sexual
Violence Survey, nearly one in five women have been the victim of an
attempted or completed rape and over one million women are raped a
year in the United States; and
   WHEREAS, The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey
reports that there are over 22 million survivors of rape throughout
the United States and two million of those survivors of rape are
currently living in the State of California; and
   WHEREAS, Women, children, and men are all 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; and
   WHEREAS, Rape and sexual assault impact women, children, and men
regardless of race, cultural background, socioeconomic background,
sexual orientation, or gender identity; and
   WHEREAS, Women, children, and men 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; and
   WHEREAS, In addition to the immediate physical and emotional
costs, sexual assault may also have severe and long-lasting
consequences of post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse,
major depression, homelessness, eating disorders, and suicide; and
   WHEREAS, The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
has identified sexual assault as a significant, costly, and
preventable health issue; and
   WHEREAS, 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, churches, health care providers, and other
helping professionals from California's diverse communities; and
   WHEREAS, It is our responsibility to support rape survivors by
treating them with dignity, compassion, and respect; and
   WHEREAS, It is important to recognize the compassion and
dedication of the individuals involved in this effort, applaud their
commitment, and increase public understanding of this significant
problem; and
   WHEREAS, 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; and
   WHEREAS, 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; and
   WHEREAS, 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; and
   WHEREAS, It is crucially important to hold perpetrators
responsible for sexual attacks, and to prevent sexual violence at
every opportunity; and
   WHEREAS, 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"; and
   WHEREAS, 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; and
   WHEREAS, 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; and
   WHEREAS, 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;
and
   WHEREAS, 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 it
   Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature designates the month of
April 2013 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature recognizes April 24, 2013, 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.