SAN DIEGO - In support of the Navy’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command hosted a 5-kilometer race to raise sexual assault awareness on their campus April 27.
Dozens of runners and walkers attended the race to show their support by wearing Sexual Assault Prevention and Response pins. The event kicked off with an address from SPAWAR’s Vice Commander, Rear Adm. Chuck Rainey.
“DoD and Navy have Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) Programs to help accomplish our goal, but it really comes down to an all hands awareness and effort to eliminate this crime from our service and communities,” said Rainey. “I ask each of you for your help with this.”
In addition to the 5K run event, SPAWAR supports Sexual Assault Awareness Month by hosting the annual SAPR General Military Training, providing resource tables to hand out informational materials and participating in the Clothesline Project- a nationally recognized awareness event that honors survivors as well as victims of intimate violence. Each piece of clothing created is a silent exhibit and self-expression of the violence affecting our military community.
“Events like these help to bring this issue into the spotlight. Everyday at least one of our Navy shipmates becomes a victim of sexual assault,” said SPAWAR Command Master Chief Octavia Harris. “Sailors must look out for each other and intervene if something is not right in a situation. If something does happen, it’s important to know what to do and who to go to.”
Commands worldwide have planned and hosted events throughout the month of April that emphasize a climate that values responsible behavior, active bystander intervention and safety from sexual assault.