Photo By Maj. J. Scott Detweiler | Vermont National Guard hosts #NotJustApril series of events at Camp Johnson, Vermont,...... read more read more
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Colchester, Vt. – From August 18-21, 2020, the Vermont National Guard Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) Office lead a socially distanced in-person and virtual campaign, aimed at increasing awareness and building a culture of engaged intervention to prevent future sexual violence.
Events were held from Tuesday through Friday with the SAPR team bringing together more than 70 personnel from both the Vermont Air and Army National Guards to engage in difficult, but critical, conversations.
“We have a strong SAPR team who does a great job with response,” said Brig. Gen. Greg Knight, adjutant general, Vermont National Guard. “What we need to do, through events like this, is build the skills to prevent sexual assault and harassment before it occurs. We must do everything we can to eliminate this from our organization.”
On Tuesday, the SAPR team facilitated the first ever Speak-Out event for the Vermont National Guard. Designed to create a safe-space for survivors to share their individual stories. Speak Out events are common during civilian-led awareness campaigns, but more difficult to facilitate in a military setting where such vulnerability is not common.
Wednesday, Anna Nasset from Stand Up Resources, shared her harrowing story of surviving stalking over a ten-year period. She facilitated discussion that focused on how bystanders can intervene and support individuals who are struggling through sexual violence.
The SAPR team held on open house on Thursday and closed out the week Friday with a town hall to discuss all the intricacies of the military’s SAPR program.
“We hosted this #NotJustApril campaign to make sure we emphasized how important awareness and intervention is when preventing sexual assault,” said Christina Lazelle, sexual assault prevention and response coordinator, Vermont National Guard. “We are so happy with the energy from the attendees for all of the events. We look forward to continuing the conversation with our Service members!”
Typically, the military joins with civilian sexual violence prevention organizations in the month of April to host various events that recognize survivors, share statistics and offer bystander intervention training. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vermont National Guard had to postpone these events.
“These conversations can be difficult,” admitted Lazelle. “But even in just the last few years I’ve seen more people willing to engage and discover ways that they themselves can get involved and prevent sexual assault or harassment.”
| Date Taken: | 08.25.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 08.27.2020 08:50 |
| Story ID: | 376759 |
| Location: | COLCHESTER, VERMONT, US |
| Web Views: | 82 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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