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04-13-09, 06:55 AM
Campaign targets military sexual assaults
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April 12, 2009 - 5:06 PM
JENNIFER HLAD
Department of Defense officials are hoping a new informational campaign will help prevent sexual assaults in the military.
More than 2,900 sexual assaults involving military service members were reported from Oct. 1, 2007, to Sept. 30, 2008, up 8 percent from the previous year, according to data released recently by the DoD.
The Army had 1,584 reports, the Air Force had 607, the Navy had 475 and the Marine Corps had 242, according to the data.
Of the cases involving Marines, 86 were aggravated sexual assaults, 42 were rapes and 21 were cases of wrongful sexual contact. Nine of the cases occurred in combat areas, including three rapes and two sexual assaults, all of which had active-duty victims, according to the Navy and Marine Corps report.
Marine Corps spokesmen said sexual assault statistics broken down to the II Marine Expeditionary Force or Camp Lejeune level are not available.
The Fiscal Year 2008 report notes that increased reports of sexual assault in the military do not necessarily reflect a rise in incidents of sexual assault.
"Sexual assault is one of the most underreported crimes in the United States," according to the report. "An increase in the number of reported cases means the (DoD) is capturing a greater proportion of the cases occurring each year."
John Sollis, the sexual assault response coordinator (SARC) for Camp Lejeune, agreed.
"If people trust the system, they're more likely to come forward," he said.
Because the DoD can only track the assaults that are reported, "it is really almost impossible to tell what the numbers mean," said Joe Münch, the SARC for II Marine Expeditionary Force.
The DoD already required sexual assault prevention training for all military service members, as well as special training for uniformed victim advocates and sexual assault response coordinators. The new campaign emphasizes the role of individual service members in preventing assaults. The theme of the campaign is "Our Strength is for Defending. Preventing Sexual Assault is Part of Our Duty."
"Our goal is to empower service members to identify and safely intervene in circumstances that put our people at risk for sexual assault," said Kaye Whitley, director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office for the DoD. "We want to capitalize on the strength of our men and women in uniform to do and say the right thing at the right time."
In his policy statement on sexual assault, II MEF Commanding General Lt. Gen. Dennis Hejlik defined sexual assault as "intentional sexual contact, characterized by the use of force, physical threat of force or abuse of authority; or when the victim does not or cannot consent."
"Sexual assault is a blatant act of violence, abuse of power and disrespect," Hejlik said in the policy statement. "It completely erodes the dignity and self-esteem of its victims, and leaves devastating psychological and physical scars for years, or even a lifetime. It is contrary to every-thing that we believe in and fight for, and it brings shame and disgrace to our ranks."
The military already has a system in place - called the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program - to educate service members about preventing sexual assaults and deal with incidents that do occur. The DoD-wide program came about a few years ago to create uniformity across the branches of service.
In the past, commanders were so intent on punishing those who committed the crimes that the victims may have felt forgotten or neglected, Sollis said. The new program is victim-centric, focusing on the needs of the victim and incorporating checks to ensure victims don't slip through the cracks.
The old process tended to revictimize the victims, Münch said. Now, victims have the choice of filing an unrestricted report - in which the incident is investigated and the suspect can be prosecuted - or reporting the incident to a trained uniformed victim advocate or sexual assault response coordinator, getting medical treatment and other assistance, but still keeping the incident private. If victims file restricted reports, even the unit's commanding officer will not know who was involved, Münch said.
And while restricted reporting of sexual assaults goes against the Marine Corps culture of holding people accountable for their actions - since it does not allow for prosecution of the suspects - it is important that victims have that choice, Münch said.
"We're trying like heck not to revictimize the victim," he said.
Naval Criminal Investigative Service initiated 216 Marine-related sexual crime investigations in FY 2008, in which 109 were allegations of military subjects committing offenses on military victims, according to the DoD sexual assault report. During the same time frame, the Marine Corps had 27 victims - 25 Marines and two sailors - make restricted reports. One victim later decided to convert to an unrestricted report.
Last year, a DoD commission visited bases around the world - including Camp Lejeune - to examine programs for sexual assault victims and the training designed to prevent assaults. The task force "left us with some things to look at," Münch said.
The task force also named Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in South Carolina a model program for its direct, hands-on commander involvement, he said. After receiving the report and the best practices, Hejlik published guidance for II MEF commanders, directing them to do a bottom-up review and inspect their programs against a given checklist. Those assessments are due Tuesday and will be analyzed by SARCs, with the results reported back to Hejlik, Münch said.
"Our commanders get it," he said. "Sexual assault is a crime, a violent crime."
For more information about the military's sexual assault prevention and response program, visit www.sapr.mil.
Amanda Hickey contributed to this report. Contact Interactive Content Editor and military reporter Jennifer Hlad at 910-219-8467 or jhlad@freedomenc.com.
Ellie
Comments 0 | Recommend 3
April 12, 2009 - 5:06 PM
JENNIFER HLAD
Department of Defense officials are hoping a new informational campaign will help prevent sexual assaults in the military.
More than 2,900 sexual assaults involving military service members were reported from Oct. 1, 2007, to Sept. 30, 2008, up 8 percent from the previous year, according to data released recently by the DoD.
The Army had 1,584 reports, the Air Force had 607, the Navy had 475 and the Marine Corps had 242, according to the data.
Of the cases involving Marines, 86 were aggravated sexual assaults, 42 were rapes and 21 were cases of wrongful sexual contact. Nine of the cases occurred in combat areas, including three rapes and two sexual assaults, all of which had active-duty victims, according to the Navy and Marine Corps report.
Marine Corps spokesmen said sexual assault statistics broken down to the II Marine Expeditionary Force or Camp Lejeune level are not available.
The Fiscal Year 2008 report notes that increased reports of sexual assault in the military do not necessarily reflect a rise in incidents of sexual assault.
"Sexual assault is one of the most underreported crimes in the United States," according to the report. "An increase in the number of reported cases means the (DoD) is capturing a greater proportion of the cases occurring each year."
John Sollis, the sexual assault response coordinator (SARC) for Camp Lejeune, agreed.
"If people trust the system, they're more likely to come forward," he said.
Because the DoD can only track the assaults that are reported, "it is really almost impossible to tell what the numbers mean," said Joe Münch, the SARC for II Marine Expeditionary Force.
The DoD already required sexual assault prevention training for all military service members, as well as special training for uniformed victim advocates and sexual assault response coordinators. The new campaign emphasizes the role of individual service members in preventing assaults. The theme of the campaign is "Our Strength is for Defending. Preventing Sexual Assault is Part of Our Duty."
"Our goal is to empower service members to identify and safely intervene in circumstances that put our people at risk for sexual assault," said Kaye Whitley, director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office for the DoD. "We want to capitalize on the strength of our men and women in uniform to do and say the right thing at the right time."
In his policy statement on sexual assault, II MEF Commanding General Lt. Gen. Dennis Hejlik defined sexual assault as "intentional sexual contact, characterized by the use of force, physical threat of force or abuse of authority; or when the victim does not or cannot consent."
"Sexual assault is a blatant act of violence, abuse of power and disrespect," Hejlik said in the policy statement. "It completely erodes the dignity and self-esteem of its victims, and leaves devastating psychological and physical scars for years, or even a lifetime. It is contrary to every-thing that we believe in and fight for, and it brings shame and disgrace to our ranks."
The military already has a system in place - called the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program - to educate service members about preventing sexual assaults and deal with incidents that do occur. The DoD-wide program came about a few years ago to create uniformity across the branches of service.
In the past, commanders were so intent on punishing those who committed the crimes that the victims may have felt forgotten or neglected, Sollis said. The new program is victim-centric, focusing on the needs of the victim and incorporating checks to ensure victims don't slip through the cracks.
The old process tended to revictimize the victims, Münch said. Now, victims have the choice of filing an unrestricted report - in which the incident is investigated and the suspect can be prosecuted - or reporting the incident to a trained uniformed victim advocate or sexual assault response coordinator, getting medical treatment and other assistance, but still keeping the incident private. If victims file restricted reports, even the unit's commanding officer will not know who was involved, Münch said.
And while restricted reporting of sexual assaults goes against the Marine Corps culture of holding people accountable for their actions - since it does not allow for prosecution of the suspects - it is important that victims have that choice, Münch said.
"We're trying like heck not to revictimize the victim," he said.
Naval Criminal Investigative Service initiated 216 Marine-related sexual crime investigations in FY 2008, in which 109 were allegations of military subjects committing offenses on military victims, according to the DoD sexual assault report. During the same time frame, the Marine Corps had 27 victims - 25 Marines and two sailors - make restricted reports. One victim later decided to convert to an unrestricted report.
Last year, a DoD commission visited bases around the world - including Camp Lejeune - to examine programs for sexual assault victims and the training designed to prevent assaults. The task force "left us with some things to look at," Münch said.
The task force also named Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in South Carolina a model program for its direct, hands-on commander involvement, he said. After receiving the report and the best practices, Hejlik published guidance for II MEF commanders, directing them to do a bottom-up review and inspect their programs against a given checklist. Those assessments are due Tuesday and will be analyzed by SARCs, with the results reported back to Hejlik, Münch said.
"Our commanders get it," he said. "Sexual assault is a crime, a violent crime."
For more information about the military's sexual assault prevention and response program, visit www.sapr.mil.
Amanda Hickey contributed to this report. Contact Interactive Content Editor and military reporter Jennifer Hlad at 910-219-8467 or jhlad@freedomenc.com.
Ellie