SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, today I join my colleagues in recognizing the importance of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Sexual assault is far too prevalent in modern society. It is estimated one in five girls and one in twenty boys will be a victim of child sexual assault. Nearly a quarter of all women attending college will also become victims during their academic career.

This issue has been a key issue for the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations, which I have the privilege to serve as ranking member. The subcommittee is not only focused on investigating and prosecuting offenders, it also looks to provide law enforcement with the necessary funding and resources and training to immediately help survivors beginning the healing process.

Just yesterday, the full Judiciary Committee reported a bill that will reauthorize the Debbie Smith Act. This will provide funding to reduce the DNA analysis backlog in our Nation's laboratories and speed up justice to victims of sexual assault.

Debbie Smith is a constituent of mine, and the horror she endured while waiting 6 1/2 years for the DNA to be tested is beyond unacceptable. What is even more unacceptable is that during the time of delay, her attacker abducted and robbed two other women. If the DNA sample had been tested in a timely manner, it is almost certain that those two women would not have been victims of crime. The Debbie Smith Act helps ensure that we can bring perpetrators to justice more quickly and helps survivors on the road to recovery.

Madam Speaker, during Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we need to focus on actions that we can take to reduce the incidence of sexual assault. For example, we have a profound responsibility to the children within our foster care system, and unfortunately we have found that those in foster care have experienced sexual assault at a much greater rate than average. Ensuring safety is a responsibility that we have.

Studies show that nearly 70 percent of children who fall victim to child sexual trade are runaways from the foster care system. By the time they run away, they have already been molested or assaulted by either a family member or somebody in the foster care system.

When we find children that are victims of sex trafficking, we must ensure that these children are treated as victims, not as criminals. A child cannot consent to sex. Sex with a child is rape and needs to be prosecuted as such. I urge my colleagues and my counterparts in the States to implement safe harbor laws so that victims of child sex trafficking are not victimized again when they encounter the law enforcement officials.

When rescued, efforts to support these children must be improved. These survivors require multidisciplinary care and resources that recognize the distinct and severe physical and psychological harms inflicted on them.

The potential for victimization does not end at childhood. The rates of campus sexual assault far exceed the rates during any time of a young person's life. Most of the victims know their attackers. Colleges need to ensure the safety of those entrusted in their care. A recently established campus safety center can go a long way in setting up the protocols to both reduce sexual assault for those on campuses and to properly respond when the assaults occur.

Last year we reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act to ensure stronger protections for female victims of crime. Since its passage in 2000, the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Prevention Act has significantly increased prosecutions of adult and child sex traffickers.

We just recently, in the last few months, the new regulations under the Prison Rape Elimination Act has also gone a long way in reducing sexual assault in our prisons.

As I said before, prosecution of offenders is a critical part of the equation, but it is not the only part. We need to ensure that we prevent such assaults from occurring in the first place and ensure that survivors are provided with the resources they need and support that they need. Strategies will evolve over time, but during Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we need to encourage actions to eliminate sexual assault.