Photo By Chief Petty Officer Stacy Atkinsricks | 150429-N-IK388-053 SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Sailors and staff assigned to the Center for...... read more read more
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SAN DIEGO - San Diego Sailors and staff assigned to the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit (CNATTU) and Naval Base Coronado (NBC) put on their best denim jeans and laced up their walking shoes to participate in their first combined Denim Day Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) Awareness Campus-to-Campus Walk on Naval Air Station North Island, April 29.
Nearly 50 members participated in the two-mile walk around the base to close out Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month (SAAPM) and show their intent to eradicate this crime from the Navy. Leaders hoped to use this event to make a lasting impression on Sailors about the Navy’s objectives regarding sexual misconduct.
“The Navy’s goal on sexual assault is to ensure that all Sailors are aware and well educated on how to prevent and report it,” said Aviation Ordnanceman 1st Class Liezl Fisco, CNATTU SAPR event coordinator. “We have numerous students that are junior and just getting started on their Navy careers so by exposing them to this effort and teaching them how to prevent, report, and support victims of sexual assault.”
CNATTU SAPR event coordinators partnered with NBC’s Sexual Assault Response Coordinator Lori Welsh to host the walk. The team chose to take a unique approach to raising awareness and jump-starting the conversation on how to stomp out sexual assault.
“We are participating in Denim Day in conjunction with the SAPR walk because not many people know how it really started,” said Fisco. “By doing this, we can get Sailors to start asking questions and in turn relay the message to their peers. It’s [essentially] a domino effect.”
Denim Day originated at a demonstration spearheaded by women of the Italian Parliament stemming from a 1992 incident when a 45-year-old driver instructor was convicted of raping an 18-year-old student. The conviction was later overturned in 1998 after the Italian courts decided the act was consensual since, in their opinion, the victim’s jeans were so tight that the accused could not have gotten them off with her willingness. Women began wearing jeans to work and carrying signs that read “Jeans: An Alibi for Rape.” In 2008, the court’s decision was overturned, finding denim as no defense to a rape charge.
Today, Sailors hoping to encourage a culture of unity and a climate of respect and support for those in and out of uniform support this same message.
“We wear denim today to let it be known that no matter what we look like individually, we do not welcome or condone sexual assault,” said Cmdr. Michelle DeBourge, executive officer of CNATTU. “We are walking with a purpose and showing that our message will gain strength in numbers just as our walk has displayed today.”
And gain numbers they did. The crowd started small, comprised of a hand full of participants assigned to the training building near the base’s shoreline, the starting point of the event.
With the command “Road guards; Post” two members in orange vest jogged to their positions in the street as crossing guards and the walk commenced. Two additional participants unfurled a banner that read, “Eliminate sexual assault. Know your part. Do your part” for onlookers to see as the group marched.
Drivers honked in support as the crowd made strides, growing as they picked up members at other CNATTU support buildings along the route. Before long the crowd nearly doubled in size as they arrived in front of the CNATTU Administration building for a brief ceremony.
The ceremony served as the centerpiece of the event. Cmdr. Thomas Gibbons, commanding officer of CNATTU, addressed attendees with his zero tolerance messages on sexual assault.
“We are talking about respect for each other and being a shipmate. That is why we have taken a turn to bystander intervention instead of what to do after the fact, we want prevention,” said Gibbons. “If you see it stop it and let move forward to get rid of this crime. Spread the word because we are not going to tolerate it.”
Fisco hoped this SAAPM closing event would inspire everyone in attendance to continue to do the work required throughout the year to eliminate sexual assault.
“SAPR walks, Denim Day, and training are held to educate us but it is effective only when you abide by it and share the knowledge with others.”
The Navy’s SAPR program is designed to prevent and respond to sexual assault with the objective of eliminating it from the service through a balance of education and advocacy. For more information on prevention and reporting visit www.sapr.navy.mil or contact your installation’s SARC.
| Date Taken: | 04.29.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 05.05.2015 16:48 |
| Story ID: | 162321 |
| Location: | SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 93 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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