ARLINGTON, Va. - As part of an overall Department of Defense policy, the National Guard is engaged in reducing acts of sexual assault and providing support for its victims.
First instituted in 2005, the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) program has a two-pronged approach to the issue of sexual assault.
First, those who have been victims of a sexual assault are given a support mechanism to report the assault, said Jane Lux, program coordinator for the National Guard Bureau's SAPR program.
That support channel comes through the sexual assault response coordinator (SARC) and the victim advocate, two positions within each brigade on the Army Guard side and at the wing level in the Air Guard.
"The victim advocate "¦ provides that one-on-one support without question, without judgment, and gives that person the support they need and helps with referrals," said Lux.
The SARC, Lux said, usually doesn't meet face-to-face with the victim but works with the leadership to make sure they are aware of the procedures, the structure for reporting and how they can coordinate support for that victim.
Additionally, when reporting the incident, victims are given the option of keeping it confidential, or opening an investigation.
"The nature of sexual assault is that victims oftentimes are very embarrassed, very private about this and all they want is help," said Lux. "(SAPR) gives the victim the option of coming to the SARC, victim advocate, chaplain or medical personnel "¦ without it going to their command or it going higher."
"The end result is we would like that victim to choose to inform their command and to inform the police, but until that victim is ready to do that, the victim is offered the opportunity to keep it totally restricted to just that SARC or victim advocate helping them."
Decrease your chances
Secondly, the program aims to educate those in the Guard on ways that sexual assaults can be reduced and how Guardmembers can decrease their chances of becoming a victim.
One way this is accomplished is through scenario-based training presented through a video. Lead by a SARC or victim advocate, "it's a discussion involving the people (watching a video) of what signals would they pick up on that indicated possibly there was a sexual assault that was going to occur," said Lux.
The training teaches bystanders to recognize the indicators of offender behavior, said Lux, who added that offenders often target vulnerable victims.
"So if they pay attention to those signals, then military members, based on their core values, can learn how to intervene and prevent sexual assaults."
Opening eyes
The program has had positive feedback, said Lux.
"We have had a lot of good responses from our (state) Joint Forces Headquarters' SARCs and our victim advocates who are actually out there teaching it," said Lux. "It's going over well and people are looking at sexual assault in a way that opens their eyes; that it's not just those strangers in the ski masks who sexually assault, it's people that we all know who oftentimes will continue to sexually assault without any kind of consequence because victims are embarrassed to come forward in a lot of cases."
A lot of those successes can be attributed to strong backing by senior leaders. "(Leadership involvement) is truly the key to this whole program," said Col. Jane Helton, division chief for the SAPR program. "If you don't have the buy-in from the senior leaders in the state, no matter how good your SARC is or how good your state resources are "¦ you're not going to go very far with this program."
Growth
The program has continued to grow since first implemented. "Instituting a program is a challenge, but we really have made progress in a short three years," said Lux. "We now have about 2,000 (SARCs) and victim advocates trained in the National Guard, both for use when they deploy and also in the state.
"We're much further ahead than we were three years ago to respond to the needs of victims of sexual assault and focus on preventing sexual assault, " said Lux.
Though the program is largely geared toward assaults by military members on other military members, there are also provisions if a Guardmember is sexually assaulted by someone outside the military or if they are assaulted when not on duty.
"When they're in civilian status usually we will refer them to local civilian rape crisis centers, perhaps local law enforcement," said Lux. "If they are in Guard status (and) if it happened during a drill weekend or at annual training, or if they are (Active Guard/Reserve), then there are military resources that may be available for them."
And in the future those capabilities will be expanded. "There will be better training," said Lux. "There will be more extensive response capability and that people will look at the issue of sexual assault in the military as being a problem for readiness and retention and that it will change a whole culture in the long run."
And for Lux, it all comes down to having high standards. "People always hold the military to higher standards than the civilian realm," she said. "And, I think the military holds itself to higher standards, so a culture where sexual assault exists needs to be changed."
For more information about the SAPR program visit DOD's Web site atwww.sapr.mil.