Young, Giglio Pass Resolution To Combat Sexual Violence

ALBANY – One in five women and one in 71 men will be the victim of sexual assault or sexual harassment during their lifetime according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC).

With concern for the victims of this predatory behavior in mind, Senator Catharine Young (R,C,I – Olean) and Assemblyman Joseph Giglio (R,I,C-Gowanda) have passed a resolution (J.1504/K.425) proclaiming April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month and are encouraging people to use the resolution as motivation to create safer environments in the workplace, the community and the world.

“The prevalence of sexual assault and sexual harassment is deeply troubling. Sexual violence has a long-lasting harmful impact on the lives of victims and can lead to long-term physical and mental health problems. By raising awareness about this important topic and encouraging victims to speak out against harmful attitudes and actions which condone sexual assault and harassment, we will make our communities safer places to live, work and raise a family,” said Senator Young.

“Sexual Assault Awareness Month is the ideal time to raise awareness of sexual assault and other related offenses,” said Assemblyman Giglio. “By educating our community on the long-lasting effects of sexual assault, we help victims heal, we provide them comfort, and we help bring their perpetrators to justice. We must continue to provide support, encouragement and compassion to victims and their families.”

According to data gathered by NSVRC, one in six boys and one in four girls will be the victim of sexual assault before the age of 18, and youth ages 12 to 17 were two-and-a-half times more likely to be victims of rape or sexual assault. Sexual assault is also a rising issue on college campuses, where an estimated one in five women and one in 16 men is sexually assaulted during their time in school.

During the 2015-16 State Budget, Senator Young was instrumental in securing nearly $6.5 million in state funding for rape crisis services for victims and programs that prevent sexual assault, after an initial cut that was proposed by Governor Cuomo. The total reflects a $4.6 million increase to support rape crisis centers across the state.

“Traumatized sexual assault victims desperately need to have the services and support that rape crisis centers provide. A significant loss in funding would have crippled the centers, forcing them to lay off staff and dramatically scale back a range of proven programs. With the funding secured in this year’s budget, we can feel confident that no crisis centers will need to be closed and survivors of rape and sexual assault will continue to receive the compassionate and professional help they need and deserve,” Senator Young said.

Rape crisis centers provide victims with access to a multidisciplinary team of experts who serve as advocates, offer crisis intervention, counseling, and the options of forensic evidence collection and police reports. Survivors of sexual assault have reported that when a rape crisis advocate is present, they experience less distress from contact with the police and medical personnel, as well as fewer psychological and physical health issues.

Also as part of this year’s state budget, $3 million was allocated for Safe Harbour, a program that works with sexually exploited youth.