PHOENIX — Former Governor Doug Ducey 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 mental health implications; and
WHEREAS, statistics show nearly one in two women and nearly one in four men have been victims of contact sexual violence at some point in their lives; and
WHEREAS, individuals with disabilities are 2.5 times more likely to be violently victimized; and
WHEREAS, the Arizona Department of Public Safety indicates that 3,201 rapes were reported to police in 2018; and
WHEREAS, 63 percent of violent crimes are not reported to law enforcement; and
WHEREAS, in addition to the immediate physical and emotional costs to victims, sexual assault can lead to long-term, devastating health effects, including post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, depression, homelessness, eating disorders, and suicide; and
WHEREAS, through prevention education, awareness efforts, a strong continuum of victim services, and holding perpetrators responsible for their actions, we can work together to better address sexual violence and create safer communities for all Arizonans; and
WHEREAS, through collaborative efforts, individuals, agencies, organizations, and communities can work together to prevent sexual assault and support victims and survivors.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Douglas A. Ducey, Governor of the State of Arizona, do hereby proclaim April 2020 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 caused to be
affixed the Great Seal of the State of Arizona
GOVERNOR
DONE at the Capitol in Phoenix on this twenty-sixth day of March in the year
Two Thousand and Twenty and of the Independence of lhe United Stales of America
the Two Hundred and Forty-Fourth.
ATTEST:
SECRETARY OF STATE
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