Madison Griffin, Fellow with Prairie Action North Dakota, Fargo-Moorhead

Recently Governor Burgum issued a proclamation naming April 2023 as Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention month. Sexual Assault Awareness Month is an educational campaign that aims to increase awareness about the causes and risk factors for sexual assault and empower individuals to take steps to prevent it in their communities. It calls attention to the fact that sexual violence is widespread and impacts every person in the community, though some more disproportionately than others.

Governor Burgum’s proclamation lifts up the upsetting – but all to real- fact that 1 in 3 women will experience sexual violence during their lifetime. The proclamation also reported that in 2022 North Dakota’s sexual violence crisis centers served 1,377 primary victims of sexual assault, with at least 383 of those, being children under the age of 18. Additionally, according to the Office of Justice Programs, 1 in 2 transgender individuals will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime.

These numbers should shake each and every one of us to our core; additionally, it is important to know that the majority of sexual assaults are not reported to police. The Department of Justice survey reports “Only 310 out of every 1,000 sexual assaults are reported to police.” Meaning, more than 2 out of 3 go unreported.

Furthermore, pregnancy as the result of rape is not a rare occurrence. A longitudinal three-year study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology found that among women ages 12-45, 5% of those who had been raped became pregnant. This shows us that not only is pregnancy resulting from rape concerning for many; it’s common for many.

This week the state legislature passed SB 2150. The bill is a near total abortion ban with a narrow rape exception that would only apply in the earliest stages of pregnancy–before many even know they are pregnant. Decisions surrounding pregnancy resulting from rape are very personal decisions in which victims deserve a full range of options without judgment or coercion from others.

During this, Sexual Assault and Prevention month, I call upon Governor Burgum to veto SB 2150.