Navy Leadership Focuses On SAAPM
Sexual assault prevention and awareness month is a top priority
12 April 2016
Sexual assault. If that phrase makes you uncomfortable, it should.
April has been designated as
Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, yet as Sailors we need to maintain a year-round vigilance against one of the biggest threats facing our Navy.
You may have often thought "It won't happen to me," but have you ever asked yourself "Am I capable of committing such a horrible act?" That's a troubling thought, to be sure, but our very ranks unfortunately contain just such people - not the qualities of a true Shipmate.
It all begins with a mirror. Think about it: as you're getting ready to begin the day, perhaps in front of the bathroom mirror, take an extra second and look at the Sailor standing there. Would that Sailor ever do such a thing? Would such a thing ever happen to that Sailor? A knee-jerk reply of "No" would undoubtedly be most of our responses. Now ask yourself if that Sailor would know how to step in and help a Shipmate from becoming a victim. Would that Sailor know how to properly report an incident?
Take full advantage of this month's highlighted training, lectures, displays, opportunities for discussion and learning. Know the support network available in your chain of command, and more importantly, such avenues as your local Fleet and Family Support Center, or the
Safeline website.
Think about it: if we all held that Sailor in the mirror to the highest standards - serving with a true sense of our core values, then that Sailor would easily become the Shipmate needed to defeat sexual assault in our Navy once and for all.
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[video:3:center:xlarge] So much so that Navy leadership announced at the beginning of the year a new set of prevention and response initiatives designed to help drive sexual assaults to zero. And with April designated as Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, the visibility of the need to rid the Navy of this cancer has only increased.
A first crucial step we as Sailors can take to once and for all eliminate this disease is to calibrate our thinking. We're no longer just "bystanders". We are, and should always be "shipmates." If you see a shipmate in need of help, step in. Know how to report something too. If you don't know how, ask.
The training lectures will happen, the presentations will take place - quarters, all hands calls, etc. Yet some may find these public forums as a challenge, especially when discussing this topic. Enter www.safehelpline.org. This support network provides a wealth of information and can link you directly to live and confidential support 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
It all begins with you. Watch more videos here.