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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS <br />Proclamation <br />"Sexual Assault Awareness Month 2007 Proclamation" <br />WHEREAS, the Orange County Rape Crisis Center assisted 374 survivors of sexual violence <br />and their family members, friends and loved ones during 2006; and <br />WHEREAS, the Orange County Rape Crisis Center works with the county's two school <br />systems and other groups to provide all students with age-appropriate information about <br />sexual assault prevention, reaching 8,862 children and youth during the 2005 - 2006 <br />school year; and <br />WHEREAS, the coordination of the Orange County Sexual Assault Response Team (BART) is <br />bringing together members of law enforcement, the medical community, the legal <br />system and other community advocates to improve services for survivors of sexual assault <br />who come forward; and <br />WHEREAS, 1 in 5 North Carolina women have been sexually assaulted at some point in <br />their lives (NC Department of Health and Human Services 1999); and <br />WHEREAS, in the United States rape is the most costly crime to its survivors, totaling $127 <br />billion a year considering factors such as medical cost, lost earnings, pain, suffering and <br />lost quality of life (U.S. Department of Justice, 1996); and <br />WHEREAS, in the United States 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men have experienced a <br />completed or attempted rape at some time in their life (US Department of Justice 1998); <br />and <br />WHEREAS, there are 5,915 sex offenders and sexual predators registered as living in North <br />Carolind (State Bureau of Investigation, 2002); and <br />WHEREAS, the blaming of the victim continues to be an enormous problem in instances of <br />rape and sexual assault; and <br />WHEREAS, the Orange County Rape Crisis Center, anon-profit, volunteer agency which <br />has been serving this community since 1974, is working with others in the community to <br />stop sexual violence and its impact through support, education and advocacy; <br />NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Orange County Board of Commissioners, does <br />hereby proclaim the month of April 2007 as "SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH." The <br />Board encourages all citizens to speak out against sexual violence and to support their <br />local communities' efforts to prevent and respond to these appalling crimes. <br />This the 27th day of March 2007 <br />Moses Carey, Jr., Chair <br />Orange County Board of Commissioners <br />