HR 9063

1	House Resolution
2	A resolution recognizing April 2010 as "Sexual Assault
3	Awareness Month" in Florida.
4
5	WHEREAS, sexual assault continues to be a major social
6	crisis in our society, with one in nine women in Florida being a
7	survivor of sexual violence, and
8	WHEREAS, sexual assault affects many Floridians, either
9	directly, as the survivor of sexual assault, or indirectly, as a
10	family member, friend, neighbor, or coworker of the survivor,
11	and
12	WHEREAS, sexual assault has a devastating effect on
13	survivors, affecting every aspect of their lives, often leading
14	to posttraumatic stress disorder and increasing the risk of
15	depression, suicide, homelessness, and substance abuse, and
16	WHEREAS, volunteers and service providers in Florida's 30
17	certified rape crisis centers work to provide a continuum of
18	care to sexual assault survivors through 24-hour hotlines,
19	counseling, support groups, advocacy, medical care, and
20	education, and
21	WHEREAS, the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence seeks
22	to improve services for survivors of sexual assault and to
23	prevent future sexual assault through public awareness and
24	services for victims, and
25	WHEREAS, Lauren's Kids, Inc., the organization founded by
26	child sexual abuse survivor and educator Lauren Book-Lim, in
27	conjunction with the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence,
28	has organized a 500-mile, healing-journey walk across Florida
29	called "Walk In My Shoes," which symbolizes the long and painful
30	road to recovery for survivors of sexual assault, and
31	WHEREAS, this "Walk In My Shoes" walk from Aventura to
32	Tallahassee will help provide awareness, guidance, and support
33	for survivors while also working to educate adults and children
34	about sexual assault, including the message that it is
35	acceptable to tell others about abuse that they have
36	experienced, and
37	WHEREAS, the Florida House of Representatives recognizes
38	the vital importance of designating a time devoted to increasing
39	public awareness and support of agencies providing services to
40	sexual assault survivors, and envisions a future in which all
41	communities are free of sexual violence, NOW, THEREFORE,
42
43	Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of
44	Florida:
45
46	That April 2010 is recognized as "Sexual Assault Awareness
47	Month" in Florida.
48	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this resolution be
49	presented to the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence and
50	Lauren's Kids, Inc., as a tangible token of the sentiments
51	expressed herein.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.