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8 <br /> The Board considered voting to approve a proclamation recognizing April 2019 as <br /> Sexual Assault Awareness Month in Orange County and authorize the Chair to sign. <br /> BACKGROUND: <br /> The Orange County Rape Crisis Center, a non-profit, volunteer agency which has been serving <br /> the community since 1974 is working with others in the community to stop sexual violence and <br /> its impact through support, education and advocacy. Sexual assault is the most costly crime to <br /> its victims considering factors such as medical cost, lost earnings, pain, suffering and lost <br /> quality of life. The Orange County Rape Crisis Center assisted over 700 survivors of sexual <br /> violence, their loved ones, and community professionals during 2018. <br /> The coordination of the Orange County Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) is bringing <br /> together members of law enforcement, the medical community, the legal system and other <br /> community advocates to improve services for survivors of sexual assault who come forward. <br /> The Board of Commissioners is asked to proclaim April 2019 as "Sexual Assault Awareness <br /> Month" in Orange County to encourage all residents to speak out against sexual assault, and to <br /> support their local communities' efforts to provide services to victims of these appalling crimes. <br /> The Board has approved similar resolutions in prior years. <br /> Rachel Valentine, Executive Director of the Orange County Rape Crisis Center read the <br /> proclamation: <br /> ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> Proclamation <br /> "Sexual Assault Awareness Month" <br /> WHEREAS, the Orange County Rape Crisis Center assisted over 700 survivors of sexual <br /> violence, their loved ones, and community professionals during 2018; and <br /> WHEREAS, the Orange County Rape Crisis Center works with the county's two school systems <br /> and other groups to provide students with age-appropriate information about violence <br /> prevention, reaching over 17,500 youth and adults each year; and <br /> WHEREAS, the coordination of the Orange County Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) is <br /> bringing together members of law enforcement, the medical community, the legal system, and <br /> other community advocates to improve services for survivors of sexual assault who come <br /> forward; and <br /> WHEREAS, 1 in 5 American women have been sexually assaulted at some point in their lives <br /> (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010); 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 lost <br /> quality of life (U.S. Department of Justice, 1996); and <br /> WHEREAS, in the United States 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have experienced some form of <br /> sexual or physical violence committed by an intimate partner (Centers for Disease Control and <br /> Prevention, 2010); and <br />