Courtesy Photo | In honor of Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month (SAAPM), 100 Marines donned...... read more read more
By Yolanda M. King
JBM-HH Sexual Assault Response Coordinator
JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, Va. - Nationally, April is recognized as Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, or SAAPM. The goal of SAAPM is to raise public awareness about sexual violence and to educate communities and individuals on how to prevent it.
Sexual assault prevention and awareness became a national issue when women-only protests throughout the United States were coordinated to draw attention to violence against women.
Later, activities were coordinated nationally and quickly developed into a movement that expanded awareness to related issues, including sexual violence against men and sought men’s participation to help end sexual violence.
Sexual assault is a continuing problem in our military, which requires sustained vigilance and a steadfast team effort to eradicate. Sexual assault breaks the bond of trust among service members that is essential to the mission, and degrades mission readiness by harming the victim and the unit’s ability to work effectively as a team. With unprecedented leadership commitment, matched by strong personal commitments from every service member, Department of Defense civilian and family members, we can establish a climate that does not tolerate, condone or ignore sexist behavior, sexual harassment or sexual assault.
There is no surefire way to prevent an attack; therefore, the SAAPM campaign includes a greater focus on prevention. We stand with survivors of sexual assault, come together to break the silence and commit to rid our areas of influence of all forms of sexual violence.
The Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) Program reinforces the Army’s commitment to prevent incidents of sexual harassment and sexual assault through a comprehensive policy that centers on awareness, training and education, victim advocacy, response, reporting and accountability.
The SHARP Program, in correlation with the DOD Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) Program, provides advocacy services and resources that supports victim recovery from the trauma of sexual assault, works to reduce the incidence of sexual assault and lifts the veil of secrecy and shame associated with reporting sexual violence.
Join SHARP and SAPR specialists, first responders and community members as we affect change to ensure no victim anguishes in their time of greatest need. We will accomplish this by reinforcing the importance of bystander intervention to stop unsafe behavior, identify measures to prevent sexual violence and display our personal commitment to ensuring everyone is treated with dignity and respect.
We are called with purpose to respond to and eliminate all forms of sexual violence from our ranks. The events listed to the right will be hosted on JBM-HH and the Pentagon during the 2015 SAAPM campaign.
2015 Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month events:
April 3, 13 and 29: SHARP/SAPR Outreach, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Pentagon, Apex 1 & 2
April 7: Military District of Washington SHARP Symposium, 9:30 to 11 a.m., Conmy Hall, JBM-HH
April 10: 5K Race to Eliminate Sexual Assault/Cherry Blossom Run/Walk, 6:45 to 8 a.m., Fort McNair Officers Club, Bldg. 60
April 15: Walk-a-lap for a survivor, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Pentagon, Main Courtyard
April 21: Combined Services SAPR Symposium: Achieving Culture Change to Eliminate Sexual Assault, 8:30 a.m. to noon, Joe Rosenthal Auditorium, Bldg. 29 at the Henderson Hall portion of JBM-HH
April 22: Victim Rights Training, 12:30 to 1:45 p.m., Pentagon Library/Conference Center, B6
April 24: SAAPM Subject Matter Expert Panel, 9 to 11 a.m., Pentagon Library/Conference Center, B6
| Date Taken: | 04.02.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 04.02.2015 18:03 |
| Story ID: | 159024 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 181 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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