Bill Text: CA SCR123 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Sexual Assault Awareness Month: Denim Day California.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 23-11)
Status: (Passed) 2016-05-10 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Res. Chapter 37, Statutes of 2016. [SCR123 Detail]
Download: California-2015-SCR123-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: SCR 123 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
RESOLUTION CHAPTER 37
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE MAY 10, 2016
ADOPTED IN SENATE APRIL 25, 2016
ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 5, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 6, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senator Jackson
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Atkins)
(Coauthors: Senators Allen, Block, Cannella, Fuller, Galgiani,
Glazer, Hall, Hertzberg, Hill, Leno, Leyva, Monning, Pavley, and
Wieckowski)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, Baker, Brown, Chang,
Chávez, Dodd, Cristina Garcia, Gonzalez, Gordon, Hadley, Kim, Lackey,
Lopez, Low, Mathis, Olsen, Rodriguez, and Salas)
MARCH 30, 2016
Relative to sexual assault.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 123, Jackson. Sexual Assault Awareness Month: Denim Day
California.
This measure would designate the month of April 2016 as Sexual
Assault Awareness Month, and would recognize April 27, 2016, as Denim
Day California.
WHEREAS, In 2014, California rape crisis centers provided direct
crisis intervention services to 31,781 individuals, provided 7,389
sexual assault forensic examinations, and provided community
education services for almost 20,000 people; 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, 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; and
WHEREAS, Rape and sexual assault impact women, children, and men
of all racial, cultural, and economic backgrounds; 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, Thousands of the most vulnerable children in our state
are being sexually exploited and assaulted for commercial gain, and
from 2011 to 2013, California's nine human trafficking task forces
identified 1,277 victims, 72 percent of whom are from the United
States; and
WHEREAS, According to the FBI, three of the nation's 13 High
Intensity Child Prostitution Areas are located in California; and
WHEREAS, In addition to the immediate physical and emotional
costs, sexual assault may also have severe and long-lasting
consequences of posttraumatic 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, health care providers, institutions of higher
education, and other allied professionals from California's diverse
communities; and
WHEREAS, It is our responsibility to support all 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 2016 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature recognizes April 27, 2016, 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 Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
