(CNN) - Three days ahead of his highly-anticipated address to the nation, President Barack Obama touted a new White House initiative to curb sexual assault and other violent crimes nationwide.
The White House address Saturday mimicked remarks the President made this week while announcing a task force aimed at protecting students on college campuses from sexual assault.
"Sexual assault is an affront to our basic decency and humanity. And it's about all of us - the safety of those we love most: our moms, our wives, our daughters and our sons," Obama said.
Obama cited a report from a White House-convened council that shows nearly one in five women, totaling 22 million, have been raped in their lifetime - and that women in college settings were at particularly high risk for sexual assault.
Beyond college campuses, Obama also vowed to continue to combat sexual assaults in the military, calling attacks within the armed forces "an injustice that no one who volunteers to protect our nation should ever endure."
Last year, Obama told top military brass they had a year to show improvement in preventing sexual assault in the armed forces.
Pushing for legislation and action to stem sexual assault and violence, the Obama said, "is a priority for me, not only as President and Commander-in-Chief, but as a husband and a father of two extraordinary girls."
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