By Serna                                        H.C.R. No. 24

      75R2078 SMC-D                           

                             HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 1-1           WHEREAS, Violent crime affects the lives of millions of

 1-2     Texans each year, causing grave physical, financial, and emotional

 1-3     harm to victims and their families; and

 1-4           WHEREAS,  According to the American Medical Association, the

 1-5     most rapidly growing violent crime in America is sexual assault;

 1-6     each year, over 700,000 women are sexually assaulted with 80

 1-7     percent of those sexual assaults committed by friends,

 1-8     acquaintances, intimates, or family members of the victim; and

 1-9           WHEREAS,  Acquaintance rape or date rape has become

1-10     increasingly common among college-age victims; a survey of more

1-11     than 6,100 students enrolled at 32 institutions of higher education

1-12     across the United States found that an alarming 54 percent of those

1-13     surveyed had been the target of some form of sexual abuse and more

1-14     than one in four college-age women had been the victim of rape or

1-15     attempted rape; and

1-16           WHEREAS, Texas colleges and universities have a

1-17     responsibility to use whatever means possible to ensure the safety

1-18     and well-being of the students placed in their charge;  for many

1-19     young people, this period represents the first time in their lives

1-20     that they have lived away from home, distant from the guidance of

1-21     their parents, and a course designed to acquaint them with the

1-22     information they need to avoid falling prey to date rape and other

1-23     acts of violence is essential for ensuring their protection; now,

1-24     therefore, be it

 2-1           RESOLVED,  That the 75th Legislature of the State of Texas

 2-2     hereby encourage Texas colleges and universities to include a

 2-3     course on antiviolence education, with a special emphasis given to

 2-4     the prevention of acquaintance or date rape, in their school

 2-5     curriculum; and, be it further

 2-6           RESOLVED,  That the secretary of state forward an official

 2-7     copy of this resolution to the presidents of each Texas college and

 2-8     university.