The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
April 02, 2012
Presidential Proclamation — National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, 2012
NATIONAL SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS AND PREVENTION MONTH, 2012
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Though we have come far in the fight to reduce sexual violence, the prevalence of sexual assault remains an affront to our national conscience that we cannot ignore. This month, we stand with survivors of sexual assault, join together to break the silence, and recommit to ending this devastating crime.
Rape and sexual assault inflict profound suffering upon millions of Americans every year. Nearly one in five women has been raped, and still more have endured other forms of sexual violence or abuse. Tragically, these crimes take their greatest toll on young people; women between the ages of 16 and 24 are at greatest risk of rape and sexual assault, and many victims, male and female, first experience abuse during childhood. The trauma of sexual violence leaves scars that may never fully heal. Many survivors experience depression, fear, and suicidal feelings in the months and years following an assault, and some face health problems that last a lifetime.
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URGENT! Calls needed immediately!
Please act NOW and forward widely!
February 1, 2012
TAKE ACTION TODAY – We only have hours before the Senate Mark Up of VAWA which will happen TODAY (2/2) at 10am EST!
If you live in Iowa, Utah, Texas, Arizona, South Carolina, Oklahoma, or Alabama, we need you to call your Senator before 10:00 am Eastern and forward this to everyone you know in your state who cares about domestic violence, dating violence sexual assault and stalking right now. If you live in any other state, forward this to your friends in Iowa, Texas, Arizona, South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Alabama.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will be voting on VAWA at 10:00am tomorrow (Thursday 2/2), and the following Senators from the states listed above have not yet signed on in support of VAWA. These Senators need to hear from you by 10:00 am eastern Thursday morning: “I urge Senator ___ to vote yes on S. 1925, the Violence Against Women Act, without harmful amendments!”
Call (http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm) these Senators today:
PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW!
For more information visit 4vawa.org or contact:
Paulette Sullivan Moore, National Network to End Domestic Violence, PSMoore@nnedv.org.
Terri Poore, National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, tpoore@fcasv.org.
Sharon Stapel, NCAVP, sstapel@avp.org.
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is due for reauthorization. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) will introduce a bipartisan bill on tomorrow, Wednesday, November 30th to reauthorize and improve VAWA.
We need your help to make sure VAWA has as much support in Congress as possible when it is introduced to the Senate tomorrow.
Over the past 17 years, VAWA has given survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking unprecedented access to improved services and ultimately, safety. VAWA has saved countless lives, protected families, given a voice to survivors and provided invaluable training to the criminal justice community. VAWA is landmark legislation in the movement to end violence against women and girls, and is both a symbol and actualization of what it means to create healing and justice for survivors and their communities.
We ask that you take a moment today to contact your Senators and encourage them to support this bill and sign on as an original co-sponsor.
We’ve listed the Senators that the VAWA coalition has identified as particularly important to gain as original co-sponsors below, as well as talking points to share during your phone call with your Senator(s).
Please share this message with your family, friends and colleagues as well and ask them to make a call to their Senator(s) today–we are hoping to get as many co-sponsors as we can before tomorrow. The time is now.
Talking points:
- We know that Senator _________ cares about ending domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking.
- The Violence Against Women Act is critical to our ability to address these crimes in our state.
- There is evidence showing that VAWA has saved millions of dollars and countless lives.
- We are asking for you to be an original co-sponsor of the Leahy/Crapo bill that will be introduced on Wednesday.
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Alabama
Sessions, Jeff – (202) 224-4124
Shelby, Richard – (202) 224-5744
Arkansas
Boozman, John – (202) 224-4843
Alaska
Murkowski, Lisa – (202) 224-6665
Arizona
McCain, John – (202) 224-2235
Kyl, Jon – (202) 224-4521
California
Boxer, Barbara – (202) 224-3553
Feinstein, Dianne – (202) 224-3841
Florida
Rubio, Marco – (202) 224-3041
Georgia
Chambliss, Saxby – (202) 224-3521
Isakson, Johnny – (202) 224-3643
Hawai‘i
Akaka, Daniel – (202) 224-6361
Inouye, Daniel – (202) 224-3934
Idaho
Crapo, Mike – (202) 224-6142 – (Sen. Mike Crapo is already one of the original co-sponsors. If he is your Senator, be sure to thank him for his commitment to ending violence against women.)
Risch, James – (202) 224-2752
Illinois
Kirk, Mark – (202) 224-2854
Indiana
Lugar, Richard – (202) 224-4814
Coats, Daniel – (202) 224-5623
Iowa
Grassley, Chuck – (202) 224-3744
Louisiana
Vitter, David – (202) 224-4623
Kansas
Moran, Jerry – (202) 224-6521
Roberts, Pat – (202) 224-4774
Kentucky
McConnell, Mitch – (202) 224-2541
Paul, Rand – (202) 224-4343
Maine
Collins, Susan – (202) 224-2523
Snowe, Olympia – (202) 224-5344
Massachusetts
Brown, Scott – (202) 224-4543
Mississippi
Cochran, Thad – (202) 224-5054
Wicker, Roger – (202) 224-6253
Missouri
Blunt, Roy – (202) 224-5721
Nebraska
Johanns, Mike – (202) 224-4224
Nevada
Heller, Dean – (202) 224-6244
New Hampshire
Ayotte, Kelly – (202) 224-3324
North Carolina
Burr, Richard – (202) 224-3154
New York
Gillibrand, Kirsten – (202) 224-4451
Schumer, Charles – (202) 224-6542
North Dakota
Hoeven, John – (202) 224-2551
Ohio
Portman, Rob – (202) 224-3353
Oklahoma
Coburn, Tom – (202) 224-5754
Inhofe, James – (202) 224-4721
Pennsylvania
Toomey, Patrick – (202) 224-4254
South Carolina
DeMint, Jim – (202) 224-6121
Graham, Lindsey – (202) 224-5972
South Dakota
Thune, John – (202) 224-2321
Tennessee
Alexander, Lamar – (202) 224-4944
Corker, Bob – (202) 224-3344
Texas
Cornyn, John – (202) 224-2934
Hutchison, Kay Bailey – (202) 224-5922
Utah
Hatch, Orrin – (202) 224-5251
Lee, Mike – (202) 224-5444
Wisconsin
Johnson, Ron – (202) 224-5323
Wyoming
Enzi, Michael – (202) 224-3424
Barrasso, John – (202) 224-6441
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