HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 23

(By Delegates Storch, Anderson, Barach, Barnhart, Bates, Booth, Bridges, Brown, Bruce, Clark, Conley, Diserio, Doyle, Ellington, Evans, Fast, Ferrell, Fleischauer, Fluharty, Forsht, Garcia, Gearheart, Graves, Griffith, Hansen, Higginbotham, Holstein, Hornbuckle, Horst, Hott, D. Jeffries, J. Jeffries, Jennings, J. Kelly, Kimes, Longanacre, Lovejoy, Mallow, Mandt, Martin, Miller, Nestor, J. Pack, Phillips, Pinson, Pritt, Pushkin, Queen, Reed, Reynolds, Riley, Rohrbach, Rowan, Rowe, Skaff, Smith, Statler, Sypolt, Thompson, Walker, Wamsley, B. Ward, G. Ward, Williams, Worrell, Young, Zatezalo and Zukoff)

[Introduced March 4, 2021]

Declaring March 4, 2021 to be Sexual Assault Awareness Day in West Virginia.

Whereas, All people have the right to be safe in their home, school, workplace, college campus, and community; and

Whereas, Sexual Assault Awareness Day draws attention to the fact that sexual violence is widespread and has implications for every community member; and

Whereas, One in six women and one in twenty-two men in West Virginia will be victims of an attempted or completed forcible rape; and

Whereas, Forcible rape is the top reason for incarceration in the state adult correctional facilities, costing the tax payers over $42 million to incarcerate inmates for sex-related crimes in Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s adult prison facilities alone for a single year; and

Whereas, Sexual violence can be reduced and prevented; and

Whereas, the West Virginia Foundation for Rape Information and Services and the state’s rape crisis centers have been working for thirty-nine years individually and collaboratively to provide quality services and systemic change to give West Virginia residents of all ages the opportunity to live in communities and homes free from violence and fear; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the House of Delegates declares March 4, 2021 to be Sexual Assault Awareness Day in West Virginia and commits itself to treating this problem with the seriousness that it deserves and working to achieve solutions that deter, prevent, and reduce sexual violence.