Sexual assault: Hurts one, affects all

From Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), and, according to Chief of Naval Information Rear Adm. Denny Moynihan, Navy leaders are committed to using SAAM as a jumping off point for a campaign to ensure every Sailor and Navy civilian fully understands the depth of the problem, that deckplate leaders must lead from the front in preventing this crime, and that all of us take ownership of the issue.
Sexual assault is corrosive to our readiness and to our combat ability.

Sexual assault is detrimental to the morale of our Sailors.
“Prevention is everyone’s duty, and that we simply will not tolerate the victimization of our shipmates,” said Moynihan. “To alert you to the scale of the problem, statistics indicate sexual assaults occur in our Navy an average of three times a day. This is simply unacceptable. Sexual assault is a crime that is detrimental to readiness, retention and morale.”

There were a total of 611 restricted and unrestricted reports of sexual assaults in fiscal year 2010 (FY10).
Of 441 unrestricted reports 49 percent (214) were aggravated sexual assault; 65 percent (285) were service member on service member.
Typically, there are 2-3 sexual assault operation reports every day. The weapon of choice, in most cases, is alcohol.
Of the 325 sexual assault investigations initiated and completed in FY10, one percent of suspects were females, 94 percent of suspects were male (remaining five percent of suspects were reported unknown).
The largest rank for suspects in investigations is E1-E4 at 35 percent, followed by E5-E9 at 21 percent.

The potential impact on victims includes withdrawal, depression, anxiety, silence and PTSD.
Sexual assault hurts Navy’s readiness and combat effectiveness.
Of the 325 sexual assault investigations initiated and completed in FY10, 76 percent (267) of suspected offenders were Sailors.

Sixty-five percent (285/441) of FY10 reported sexual assaults are service member on service member.
We need to look at our culture and eliminate those behaviors that are incompatible with a safe, sexual assault-free environment.

We have a moral duty to keep Sailors and their families safe from those who would attack their dignity and their honor.
Sexual assault prevention is everyone’s duty. As shipmates, we must look out for each other and prevent harm before it occurs.
Bystander Intervention (BI) training teaches Sailors to recognize inappropriate, coercive and harassing behaviors and when to intervene, before a behavior moves closer toward sexual violence; tangible intervention behavior strategies.
Based on a recent survey of 687 Sailors who participated in a BI pilot program training in Spring 2011, 31 Sailors reported that they successfully intervened in situations that may have led to sexual assault.
As of March 25, 9,752 Sailors have participated in Bystander Invention training while at “A-School.”

The Navy is working to implement BI training on a Fleet-wide level, in addition to other sexual assault training programs, later this year.
In a military force, where the promise to help each other in battle and to leave nobody behind is a sacred promise, we must honor the dignity of every Sailor in all arenas.