Orange County NC Website
OR.ANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />Proclamation <br />"Sexual Assault Awareness Month" <br />Avri12012 <br />WHEREAS, the Orange County Rape Crisis Center assisted 458 survivors of se~al violence <br />and their loved ones during 2011; and <br />WHEREAS, the Orange County Rape Crisis Center works with the county's two school <br />systems and other groups to provide students with age-appropriate information about violence <br />prevention, reaching 10,607 youth and adults during the 2010 - 2011 school year; and <br />WHEREAS, the coordination of the Orange County Se~ual Assault Response Team (SART) is <br />bringing together members of law enforcement, the medical community, the legal system, and <br />other community ad~ocates to improve services for survivors of sexual assault who come <br />forward; and <br />WHEREAS, 1 in 5 American women have been raped at some point in their lives (Centers for <br />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 2 women and 1 in 5 men have experienced some form of <br />se~al violence in their lives (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010); and <br />WHEREAS, there are 17,315 sex offenders registered as living in North Carolina (Department of <br />Justice, 2012); and <br />WHEREAS, victim-blaming continues to be an enormous problem in instances of rape and <br />se~al assault; and <br />WHEREAS, the Orange County Rape Crisis Center, a non-profit agency that has served this <br />community since 1974, is working to stop se~ntal violence and its impact through support, <br />education, and advocacy; <br />NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, <br />do hereby proclaim the month of April 2012 as "SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS <br />MONTH" and encourage all residents to speak out against se~rual violence and to support their <br />local communities' efforts to prevent and respond to these appalling crimes. <br />This the 22nd day of March 2012. „-~}_ ~~~`~•~^ <br />~~~n~.~S~Y~ <br />Bernadette Pelissier, Chair <br />Orange County Board of Commissioners <br />