Photo By Capt. Daniel Yarnall | Pvt. Amber Thomas, with USF-I help desk, makes a comment at the Sisterhood Against...... read more read more
BAGHDAD – In an effort to reduce sexual assault and help those affected, service members at Camp Victory formed a new group committed to not only battle the crime, but also to educate and help people find a voice for the issue.
The Sisterhood Against Sexual Assault held their first meeting at Al Faw Palace July 23 and welcomed a group of about 75 women and men committed to helping their fellow service members.
The conference is meant to be a kick-start for the prevention and support program, said Capt. Rebecca Ore, a unit victim advocate for the III Corps Special Troops Battalion.
Maj. Lisa Belcastro, J7 Engineering Capacity Development operations and plans officer, put the conference together with the theme of “finding your voice.” The goal of the program is to educate service members and help them from becoming a victim.
To remedy what she perceived as a lack of female role models, Belcastro gathered some senior female service members to serve in that capacity, by sharing their own stories and showing that sexual assault can happen to anyone and that those who have been victimized are not alone.
“The conference consisted of a raw kind of honesty and candidness that is not often seen from higher-level leaders, as they shared their past experiences to include being sexually harassed and assaulted while serving in the military,” said Belcastro.
She said that through sharing their personal stories, the senior leaders initiated a certain amount of trust among the group and set the tone for the conference, which is designed to address deeper, underlying issues that are not normally discussed openly.
Rank differences became secondary to service members, as many had shared similar experiences.
“They didn’t just look at us as a full-bird colonel, a major, or a sergeant major, they said, ‘Wow, this is a woman that has walked this path before me,’” said Belcastro.
Lt. Saubriddhi Winkler executive officer for Company A, USF-I, III Corps STB, said that this conference helped her realize that sexual assault affects everybody.
“It’s not just a rank thing. It’s a person thing,” she said. “It happens to everyone in every rank whether you’re an O6 or an E1.”
Both Belcastro and Ore said that while many of the military’s sexual assault prevention directives such as the I A.M. Strong campaign and the Sexual Assault Response Program are geared provide great messages to the Soldiers, the target audience seems to be focused more toward men.
The idea behind the Sisterhood Against Sexual assault is to provide a different method to improve awareness, build confidence, and ultimately prevent sexual assault, Belcastro said. It offers a chance to focus on educating females in what they can do to protect themselves.
To educate service members and provide a male’s perspective concerning sexual assault, Belcastro invited Sgt. Maj. Clarence Wilson, USF-I J3/J34 protection sergeant major to be a guest speaker.
“His briefing was excellent. He said things that female Soldiers had never heard or thought about,” said Belcastro. “He gave great key points for young Soldiers to protect themselves.”
She said that Wilson offered suggestions for Soldiers to incorporate into their everyday interactions, such as being the last one to enter into another person’s room so they can get out if the situation doesn’t feel right.
Tech. Sgt. Wendy Beech Staff Judge Advocate operations non-commissioned officer, said that Wilson’s offered some of the most important information presented at the conference. She said that after the conference she shared some of the information she learned from Wilson to people who could not attend.
“I passed on what sergeant major talked about when he described the behaviors of a predator and how they seek out their victim,” said Beech.
Sgt. Maj. Carleen Williams, USF-I Staff Judge Advocate sergeant major, addressed the reasoning behind using the word ‘sisterhood’ in the group’s name, saying that the decision was made to draw those people who statistically have been more affected by sexual assault, junior females.
Williams said that SASA is open for men, since they too can be victims, and that there is no intention to close the door to anyone that may need support.
The group is working on setting up a Facebook page to continue to reach out to service members through different venues. If recurring issues are discovered, they can address them during the monthly meetings.
Belcastro said that the response she received from the conference exceeded her expectations. She said her inbox was flooded with e-mails from commanders saying how inspired their female Soldiers were after attending the event.
“I think the message really got through. Soldiers were highly motivated and spirits were up when they left the conference,” she said.
Pvt. Amber Thomas with USF-I help desk, was one of the junior Soldiers that felt the conference was a good confidence builder.
“I left feeling more secure,” she said. “I learned that females [and males] aren’t alone when they are sexually harassed or assaulted; that there is someone they can consult with.”
| Date Taken: | 07.23.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 08.01.2010 14:36 |
| Story ID: | 53788 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 298 |
| Downloads: | 73 |
This work, New group forms to combat sexual assault, by CPT Daniel Yarnall, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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