Fight continues against sexual assault

Though Sexual Assault Awareness Month is over, the fight against sexual assault cases in the military is still in full swing.

Events held throughout April by the Air Force Sexual Assault Prevention and Response in conjunction with the Army Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention programs allowed members of the KMC to learn more about the realities of sexual assault.

Carmen Schott, sexual assault re-sponse coordinator, said efforts to educate are a critical component to fostering understanding of the resources available to victims in military communities.

“I feel there is definitely a link between outreach and prevention efforts and referrals,” she said. “When we’re out there passing out information and talking to people, they see that we’re real people, we’re compassionate and we’re here to help.”

Schott noted there was a recent increase in the number of community members contacting the SARC expressing interest in helping victims of sexual assault and an increase in victims seeking advice and guidance.

“We’ve had a lot more people approaching us to do restrictive reporting, which shows they trust they can come in and get some help even though they don’t want to open an investigation,” Schott said.

While the events occurring throughout April allowed SAPR and SHARP victim advocates to engage the KMC directly with awareness efforts, it is important for community members to continue recognizing and fight cases of sexual assault.

Natalie Swindle, U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz SHARP victim advocate, said a change in public perception of sexual assault is necessary to eradicate the problem.

“It’s going to take more than slide shows and outreach events to completely fix the issue,” she said. “There has to be a concentrated effort to change the way we live our lives, how we treat our victims and perpetrators, and even how we react to people joking about sexual assault.”

A willing community can help put an end to sexual assault by staying informed, Swindle said.

“If we stop raising awareness then people will stop thinking about the issues of sexual assault and stop thinking about their actions before they take them,” Swindle said. “Reaching out into the community and talking about these issues allows people to have a more complete understanding of sexual assault. If we don’t continue to educate, it will completely set us back in changing the culture.”

For more information about sexual assault, call the SARC office on Ramstein at 480-5597 or 06371-47-7272. The SARC hotline may be reached at any time at 480-7272.