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5 <br /> <br />The Orange County Rape Crisis Center, a non-profit, volunteer agency, which has been serving 1 <br />the community since 1974 is working with others in the community to stop sexual violence and 2 <br />its impact through support, education and advocacy. The Orange County Rape Crisis Center 3 <br />assisted over 675 survivors of sexual violence, their loved ones, and community professionals 4 <br />during 2017. The Orange County Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) is bringing together 5 <br />members of law enforcement, the medical community, the legal system and other community 6 <br />advocates to improve services for survivors of sexual assault who come forward. 7 <br />Julia Da Silva, Rape Crisis Center Vice President, read the Proclamation: 8 <br /> 9 <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 10 <br />Proclamation 11 <br />“Sexual Assault Awareness Month 2018 Proclamation” 12 <br /> 13 <br />WHEREAS, the Orange County Rape Crisis Center assisted over 675 survivors of sexual 14 <br />violence, their loved ones, and community professionals during 2017; and 15 <br /> 16 <br />WHEREAS, the Orange County Rape Crisis Center works with the county’s two school systems 17 <br />and other groups to provide students with age-appropriate information about violence 18 <br />prevention, reaching over 17,000 youth and adults each year; and 19 <br /> 20 <br />WHEREAS, the coordination of the Orange County Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) is 21 <br />bringing together members of law enforcement, the medical community, the legal system, and 22 <br />other community advocates to improve services for survivors of sexual assault who come 23 <br />forward; and 24 <br /> 25 <br />WHEREAS, 1 in 5 American women have been sexually assaulted at some point in their lives 26 <br />(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010); and 27 <br /> 28 <br />WHEREAS, in the United States rape is the most costly crime to its survivors, totaling $127 29 <br />billion a year considering factors such as medical cost, lost earnings, pain, suffering, and lost 30 <br />quality of life (U.S. Department of Justice, 1996); and 31 <br /> 32 <br />WHEREAS, in the United States 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have experienced some form of 33 <br />sexual or physical violence committed by an intimate partner (Centers for Disease Control and 34 <br />Prevention, 2010); and 35 <br /> 36 <br />WHEREAS, there are more than 16,500 sex offenders registered as living in North Carolina 37 <br />(Department of Justice, 2015) 38 <br /> 39 <br />WHEREAS, victim-blaming continues to be an enormous problem in instances of rape and 40 <br />sexual assault; and 41 <br /> 42 <br />WHEREAS, the Orange County Rape Crisis Center, a nonprofit agency that has served this 43 <br />community since 1974, is working to stop sexual violence and its impact through support, 44 <br />education, and advocacy; 45 <br /> 46 <br />NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Orange County Board of Commissioners, do 47 <br />hereby proclaim the month of April 2018 as “SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH” 48 <br />and encourage all residents to speak out against sexual violence and to support their local 49 <br />community’s efforts to prevent and respond to these appalling crimes. 50