thedrifter
10-11-05, 06:43 PM
October 17, 2005
Programs to handle sexual assault
Marines required to take action; will be taught prevention, response
By Gidget Fuentes
Times staff writer
Do you know the Marine Corps’ rules about sexual assault and its prevention policy? Have you sat through a training class about it yet? Do you know what the Pentagon’s definition of “consent” is?
If not, you will soon. The Corps’ top leaders are adding to your annual training regime a class about the military’s policies to prevent, respond to and handle sexual assault.
A year ago, the commandant’s signature put into place the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response program, through Marine Corps Order 1752.5. The order established SAPRO, the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, through Marine Corps Community Services, at Quantico, Va., to oversee prevention efforts and coordinate the responses to allegations.
The policy, which the Corps is instituting across the service, is its slice of the broader Pentagon response to congressional mandates to curb sexual assault in the services, handle victims with sensitivity and punish offenders. It also establishes a database to track incidents reported to commands.
Sexual-assault training, which includes identifying suspect behaviors, laying out the command’s role, reporting suspected incidents to the chain of command and understanding the SAPRO process, has become part of the annual “common skills” training required for all Marines.
Commanding officers and other leaders are also getting additional training about their responsibilities.
“As leaders, commanders must be keenly aware of and sensitive to the climate of their units,” the order states. “Commanders must continuously educate their Marines on how to prevent incidents of sexual assault, while also encouraging victims and witnesses to report these incidents when they occur. Leaders must be aware that Marines who are sexual-assault victims are physically, mentally and emotionally traumatized and wounded. A wounded Marine must never be left on the battlefield.”
The order continues: “Sexual-assault victims have at times been considered responsible for their predicament and are sometimes re-victimized by those in a position to assist. To eliminate these systemic problems, it is Marine Corps policy that all personnel shall treat these victims with dignity and sensitivity. They will be protected through fair, conscientious and unbiased treatment as individuals.”
Action required
In signing the policy on Sept. 28, 2004, Commandant Gen. Mike Hagee called on every leatherneck to take action when necessary.
“The order also directs all Marines to immediately report any incident of sexual assault to their command,” he wrote in a message, AlMar 053/04, announcing the program. “Commanders shall immediately report all actual, suspected or alleged sexual assaults to the provost marshal’s office (PMO). Additionally, after a thorough investigation, commanders shall hold individuals accountable for their actions.”
To help the program get off the ground at the unit level, the Corps is establishing several key positions to start up and oversee the policy.
One is the sexual-assault response coordinator, or SARC, considered “the center of gravity when it comes to ensuring victims receive appropriate and responsive care with timely access to support services,” according to a job description posted on the SAPRO Web site. “The SARC coordinates the response to the sexual assault and places particular emphasis on victim support and safety” and oversees local training.
The SARC also would appoint a uniformed victim advocate for subordinate and deployed units. Both positions will have confidentiality, and will not be required to report allegations to the command or law enforcement without consent.
In 2003, the Marine Corps had 59 reported cases of sexual assault, 87 cases of rape and three cases of sodomy, according to data from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service included in a SAPRO brief. Those figures were slightly higher than in 2002, when 54 indecent assaults, 81 rapes and two sodomy cases were reported.
The Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office’s Web site is www.usmc-mccs.org/sapro.
Ellie
Programs to handle sexual assault
Marines required to take action; will be taught prevention, response
By Gidget Fuentes
Times staff writer
Do you know the Marine Corps’ rules about sexual assault and its prevention policy? Have you sat through a training class about it yet? Do you know what the Pentagon’s definition of “consent” is?
If not, you will soon. The Corps’ top leaders are adding to your annual training regime a class about the military’s policies to prevent, respond to and handle sexual assault.
A year ago, the commandant’s signature put into place the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response program, through Marine Corps Order 1752.5. The order established SAPRO, the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, through Marine Corps Community Services, at Quantico, Va., to oversee prevention efforts and coordinate the responses to allegations.
The policy, which the Corps is instituting across the service, is its slice of the broader Pentagon response to congressional mandates to curb sexual assault in the services, handle victims with sensitivity and punish offenders. It also establishes a database to track incidents reported to commands.
Sexual-assault training, which includes identifying suspect behaviors, laying out the command’s role, reporting suspected incidents to the chain of command and understanding the SAPRO process, has become part of the annual “common skills” training required for all Marines.
Commanding officers and other leaders are also getting additional training about their responsibilities.
“As leaders, commanders must be keenly aware of and sensitive to the climate of their units,” the order states. “Commanders must continuously educate their Marines on how to prevent incidents of sexual assault, while also encouraging victims and witnesses to report these incidents when they occur. Leaders must be aware that Marines who are sexual-assault victims are physically, mentally and emotionally traumatized and wounded. A wounded Marine must never be left on the battlefield.”
The order continues: “Sexual-assault victims have at times been considered responsible for their predicament and are sometimes re-victimized by those in a position to assist. To eliminate these systemic problems, it is Marine Corps policy that all personnel shall treat these victims with dignity and sensitivity. They will be protected through fair, conscientious and unbiased treatment as individuals.”
Action required
In signing the policy on Sept. 28, 2004, Commandant Gen. Mike Hagee called on every leatherneck to take action when necessary.
“The order also directs all Marines to immediately report any incident of sexual assault to their command,” he wrote in a message, AlMar 053/04, announcing the program. “Commanders shall immediately report all actual, suspected or alleged sexual assaults to the provost marshal’s office (PMO). Additionally, after a thorough investigation, commanders shall hold individuals accountable for their actions.”
To help the program get off the ground at the unit level, the Corps is establishing several key positions to start up and oversee the policy.
One is the sexual-assault response coordinator, or SARC, considered “the center of gravity when it comes to ensuring victims receive appropriate and responsive care with timely access to support services,” according to a job description posted on the SAPRO Web site. “The SARC coordinates the response to the sexual assault and places particular emphasis on victim support and safety” and oversees local training.
The SARC also would appoint a uniformed victim advocate for subordinate and deployed units. Both positions will have confidentiality, and will not be required to report allegations to the command or law enforcement without consent.
In 2003, the Marine Corps had 59 reported cases of sexual assault, 87 cases of rape and three cases of sodomy, according to data from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service included in a SAPRO brief. Those figures were slightly higher than in 2002, when 54 indecent assaults, 81 rapes and two sodomy cases were reported.
The Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office’s Web site is www.usmc-mccs.org/sapro.
Ellie