Does Sexual Assault prevention training help?

SSG Peter Muse — Sun, 21 Dec 2014 14:52:56 -0500

I am the primary facilitator for SAPR/SHARP training for civilian employees at our site. We talked about the victims and causes and there is much controversy here. I always believed this only gets solved by education and leading by example. What other thoughts are out there?

Response by SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 21 at 2014 3:24 PM

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 21 Dec 2014 15:24:35 -0500

I like the recent shift in focus away from placing the responsibility on the victim, and towards encouraging soldiers and leaders to intervene when they see a situation starting to go badly. I think that type of emphasis helps victims seek help instead of blaming themselves. It also helps soldiers and leadership focus on fostering an environment of respect and watching out for their fellow soldiers.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 21 at 2014 4:32 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 21 Dec 2014 16:32:53 -0500

It sure does...it's give a grate resone for suicide prevention brifs

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 21 at 2014 4:51 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 21 Dec 2014 16:51:36 -0500

One thing that I heard from a SHARP Rep, that I found to be very interesting, was that if a person is a predator, then no amount of training is going to change that person. This is because that person is wired that way or has some sort of mental issue that makes them that way. However, the purpose of the training is NOT for the predator, but instead it is for everyone else, so that they can understand how predators think and actions to look out for, so that person can be stopped before they ever get a chance to commit an act of sexual assault.

Response by SSG Steve Vincent made Dec 21 at 2014 5:09 PM

SSG Steve Vincent — Sun, 21 Dec 2014 17:09:59 -0500

No but he'll no. It happened to me on my second deployment , I think that ant solider that rape, or sexual assault any warrior should get life in prison or death , we are surposed to be protesters of the people of the United States and who ever needs our help, so if a lower ranked soilder can not trust other solider or officers , like LT Digman from the 445 transport ion and there old retired 1st SARGENT who covered it up , I think this Armed Forces wanting to make sexial a salt crimes more harsher is a BIG F--KING JOKE I would love to go a tell the house in DC what I Think ..man I could tell y'all who called me about all this and not a thing happened

Response by SPC Daniel Edwards made Dec 21 at 2014 5:43 PM

SPC Daniel Edwards — Sun, 21 Dec 2014 17:43:40 -0500

Unfortunately, it is not helping as much as it should be. My last unit found this movie funny. I did not. I learned that I did not realize that the military sexual assault problem is not only bigger than I thought but is also not going to go away that easily. While I tried to pay attention and actually learn from it, everyone else in my unit laughed at it the whole time. I was actually insulted that they found humor in others suffering. This problem is not taken seriously enough and it needs to be. Training and PowerPoint slides are not enough to get people to realize how serious it is. They see it as an inconvenience to their smoke breaks. The reality of how serious it is will not set in until it happens to them.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 21 at 2014 7:00 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 21 Dec 2014 19:00:49 -0500

Yes and no. If we beat it into the system and "over-teach" it then nobody pays attention. If you teach it once a year it is just another mandatory training brief in the mix of many others, but this one is scripted until most of the others. I think the best training comes from instructors who are passionate about the subject and relate to the topic. I know we had a Soldier of mine teach a course about PTSD and he told of his personal struggles and that class was silent. Everyone was listening and everyone was focused. His words, openness, and courage allowed for others to open up and speak about their experiences. If we cookie-cut this training and do not allow for people to share their experiences or try to tailor it to their unit and Soldiers it will touch most the first time, but after that it is as they say just a "refresher". We can do better than this. It has improved, but we can and we must do better than what we are currently doing.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 21 at 2014 7:03 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 21 Dec 2014 19:03:35 -0500

Hell no it doesn't. If it did, we wouldn't be talking about it.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 21 at 2014 7:04 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 21 Dec 2014 19:04:19 -0500

It's helped in the sense that reporting has gone up although incidents are about the same level. Soldiers are starting to trust the system.

The hardest thing is changing that soldier's mindset to stop blaming the victim and saying she/he put themselves in that situation. Granted soldiers make mistakes and can lead themselves vulnerable at times, but it is no reason to take advantage of one another.

Just close your eyes and imagine you have a 16 year old daughter and some guy comes up to talk to her. He's a spitting image of you. Does that make you happy? If not, change it.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 21 at 2014 8:52 PM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 21 Dec 2014 20:52:03 -0500

Maybe it has helped as far as getting sources out to people that may need them. But overall I would say no. If someone is enough of a scumbag to sexually assault another person I don't think that taking these classes would help to change them at all.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 21 at 2014 10:02 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 21 Dec 2014 22:02:49 -0500

Prevention works about as much as safety stand down does.