Trump names April National Sexual Assault Awareness month, still denies allegations by 15 women

US President Donald Trump announced that April would be National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention month in an effort to raise awareness and stop sexual awareness, The Daily Mail reports.

The US president has been accused by at least 15 women of sexual misconduct and assault, which he labels as ‘fake news’.

The statement announcing Sexual Assault Awareness month urged Americans to 'support survivors of sexual assault and work together to prevent these crimes in their communities' and was signed by Trump.

“During National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, we remain steadfast in our efforts to stop crimes of sexual violence, provide care for victims, enforce the law, prosecute offenders, and raise awareness about the many forms of sexual assault. We must continue our work to eliminate sexual assault from our society and promote safe relationships, homes, and communities,” the statement said.

“Sexual assault crimes remain tragically common in our society, and offenders too often evade accountability. These heinous crimes are committed indiscriminately: in intimate relationships, in public spaces, and in the workplace.”

In 2001 the National Sexual Violence Resource Center declared that April would be a month dedicated to the issue. President Obama’s administration began observing National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention month in 2010.

During the 2016 presidential campaign People Magazine reporter Natasha Stoynoff went public with an allegation that she was assaulted by Trump during an interview trip to his Mar-a-Lago estate.

She says he pushed her against a wall and ‘forced his tongue down my throat’.

The campaign also saw the leak of a 2005 audio recording from television show ‘Access Hollywood’ where Trump claimed he can ‘do anything to women’.

“I just start kissing them … Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.”

Trump apologised for the comment, but dismissed criticism as ‘locker room talk’.

According to CNN, the allegations against Trump include attempted rape, an incident where his first wife Ivana Trump claimed he ‘violated’ her after a violent attack and numerous allegations of forcible kissing and groping.