Military battles against sexual assault
April is sexual assault awareness and prevention month and nowhere is the issue more high profile these days than the military. Among the events, shoes on display representing victims who have reported a sexual assault at Fort Bliss.
“They can break the silence and come forward and get the assistance they need and move into the survivor stage,” said SFC Rena Key, who set up the exhibit.
Key is part of a team in charge Sexual Harassment Assault Response and Prevention at Fort Bliss known as of SHARP.
The “Sole Survivor” exhibit is one of the ways the military is participating in sexual assault awareness during April but combating rape within the ranks is a full time priority as outlined in a Department of Defensereport.
“The new slogan for the military now is not in my squad, not in my army,” said SFC, Tomas Johnson, of the SHARP program.
All soldiers must now undergo SHARP training on an annual basis.
“When you’re getting training constantly about different issues, sexual assault, It clicks. It’s automatic. Who do we need to call?,” said Dwayne DeVene, a soldier who went through the training a couple of weeks ago.
The number service members willing to report a sexual assault is on the rise. Some credit growing awareness as well as trust that the military will now respond.
“We see the numbers of reporting increasing. And we believe that trend is because they know they have someone standing behind them,” said Key.
The military has two ways a victim can report a sexual assault, restricted and unrestricted. Restricted limits the information to only those necessary to ensure the victim gets treatment. Unrestricted reporting involves the entire chain of command and is necessary for an investigation and possible criminal charges.
The number of victims in uniform choosing unrestricted reporting is on rise and reached 38% this past year. But problems reporting the crime persist.
“It is a great misconception unfortunately that this is a female situation and it is not,” said Key.
At least one out of every four victims in uniform who report a sexual assault, 27%, is a man but the number is likely higher say experts since men are often reluctant to seek help.
A Government Accounting Officereport“Action needed to Address Sexual Assault of Male Service Members,” found 2014 Department of Defense data show that 1180 males, and 4,104 females reported a sexual assault.
GAO’s analysis of sexual assault prevalence estimates found at most 13 percent of males reported their assaults, whereas at least 40 percent of females reported.”
The military has begun to develop ideas for increasing male reporting including specific outreach but the GAO found “problems persist.”
And the GAO found the military “has also generally not portrayed male sexual assault victims in its sexual assault prevention training materials.”
While there is more work to do, those involved in creating awareness at Fort Bliss have seen progress.
“Men are finally coming forward and it’s a blessing,” said Johnson.
