Florida Senate - 2023                              (NP)    SR 68
       
       
        
       By Senator Berman
       
       
       
       
       
       26-00243-23                                             202368__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution recognizing April 2023 as “Sexual Assault
    3         Awareness Month” and Wednesday, April 5, 2023, as
    4         “Start by Believing Day” in Florida.
    5  
    6         WHEREAS, Sexual Assault Awareness Month calls attention to
    7  the fact that sexual trauma and abuse are widespread and impact
    8  every person in this state, and
    9         WHEREAS, rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment harm
   10  the people of this state, with statistics showing that 1 in 6
   11  women and 1 in 33 men have experienced an attempted rape or a
   12  rape in their lifetimes, and
   13         WHEREAS, more than two-thirds of sexual assaults are never
   14  reported to police, and
   15         WHEREAS, young people experience heightened rates of sexual
   16  violence, with 1 in 9 girls and 1 in 53 boys under 18 years of
   17  age experiencing sexual abuse or assault at the hands of an
   18  adult, and
   19         WHEREAS, on college campuses, 13 percent of all students
   20  experience rape or sexual assault through physical force,
   21  violence, or incapacitation, and
   22         WHEREAS, every year, the first Wednesday in April is
   23  celebrated as “Start by Believing Day,” which provides an
   24  opportunity for communities around the world to unite to end the
   25  silence surrounding, and change the response to, sexual assault,
   26  NOW, THEREFORE,
   27  
   28  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   29  
   30         That April 2023 is recognized as “Sexual Assault Awareness
   31  Month” and Wednesday, April 5, 2023, is recognized as “Start by
   32  Believing Day” in Florida.