PHOENIX — Governor Katie Hobbs proclaimed the month of April to be Sexual Assault Awareness Month to raise awareness about sexual assault, provide support for survivors, and strive to achieve a state where sexual assault victims have a clear path to justice, and our communities, families, and children are protected.
View text of the proclamation below
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WHEREAS, rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment harm our communities and have widespread physical and psychological consequences, such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, re-occurring, reproductive, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and sexual health problems; and
WHEREAS, over half of women and almost 1 in 3 men have experienced sexual violence involving physical contact during their lifetimes; and
WHEREAS, individuals with disabilities are almost 4 times more likely to be violently victimized, and individuals 65 and older are 7 times more likely to be violently victimized; and
WHEREAS, the majority of sexual assaults are not reported to police; and
WHEREAS, the vast majority of rape/sexual assaults go unreported; and
WHEREAS, the Arizona Department of Public Safety indicates that 2,873 sexual assaults were reported to law enforcement in 2022; and
WHEREAS, victim service providers, law enforcement agencies, medical providers, and court personnel across Arizona have made significant contributions to support victims and their families members in the healing, process; and
WHEREAS, expanding prevention education, increasing awareness, building a strong continuum of victim services, and holding perpetrators accountable, can create safer communities for all Arizonans.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Katie Hobbs, Governor of the State of Arizona, do hereby proclaim April 2023 as
SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH
and encourage all citizens, parents, governmental agencies, public and private institutions, businesses, hospitals, schools, and colleges in the state of Arizona to join together and raise awareness about sexual assault, provide support for survivors, and strive to achieve a state where sexual assault victims have a clear path to justice, and our communities, families, and children are protected.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and cause
to be affixed the Great Seal of the State of Arizona
GOVERNOR
DONE at the Capitol In Phoenix on this thirtieth day of March in
the year Two Thousand and Twenty-Three and of the
Independence of the United States of America the Two Hundred
and Forty-Seventh.
ATTEST:
SECRETARY OF STATE
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