Photo By Staff Sgt. Mark Miranda | Lt. Col. Celia FlorCruz, SHARP Director, 7th Infantry Division, greets attendees...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. – For more than 30 years, Lt. Col. Celia FlorCruz has had a remarkable career in the U.S. Army. A graduate of West Point, she was part of the third class to admit female cadets, and during Operation Desert Storm she flew missions as a medical evacuation helicopter pilot.
Today, FlorCruz directs the Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) Program for 7th Infantry Division at JBLM. At the outset of her career, she had been sexually assaulted as a first year student at the University of Virginia, and then as a cadet at West Point. These experiences have made her a driven advocate for the Army SHARP Program.
FlorCruz shared her story during a special event presentation called "From Victim to Survivor to Leader: Preventing Sexual Assault in the Military and on Campus," Feb. 17 at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash.
FlorCruz’s appearance at the Karen Hille Phillips Performing Arts Center was part of the university’s Spring Spotlight Series, “…and Justice for all?”
Jennifer Warwick, Victim Advocate and project administrator for Voices Against Violence in PLU’s Women’s Center, introduced FlorCruz to a filled auditorium. Warwick helps students who have experienced intimate partner violence, sexual assault as well as stalking.
“We’re very honored to have her here tonight to share her story,” Warwick said. “As the topic of sexual violence touches the lives of many of us in very different ways, we’d like everyone to know that there’s advocacy support and local resources available.”
This would be the first time for FlorCruz sharing her intensely personal story. To begin, FlorCruz compared similarities between new Soldiers and new college students.
“Who is most vulnerable? When it comes to sexual assault, the demographic is almost identical whether you’re talking about academia, the U.S. military or anywhere else: young men and women ages 18-24, who are away from home for the first time,” FlorCruz said.
“Of the nearly 150,000 people at JBLM, 72% of us are living in the local communities, so we share victims and we share predators. We should continue this collaboration for safer communities.”
The 7th Infantry Division has 500 trained, nationally accredited victim advocates at JBLM.
“They all have the same determination to prevent sexual assault, to get victims the help they need and to hold those perpetrators responsible.”
One of the goals FlorCruz has is to help those affected move from victimhood to survivorship.
FlorCruz told a detailed story on how she was assaulted by an upperclassman, a dorm residential assistant who took an interest in her.
“I was vulnerable, away from my familiar environment. I was humiliated; I felt guilty because my own convictions had been compromised. I was also ashamed because I thought I was more competent than that - how do you find yourself naked with a guy you don’t even like?”
FlorCruz said that in the late 1970s, rape hotlines and advocacy services were not fully developed at many universities.
“We didn’t really know how to do these kinds of things. For what they had at the time, the university did the best that they could. Soon, the perpetrator was no longer a part of my environment, and it was people around me that made sure that happened. It was people like you guys making sure that someone who had been put in harm’s way was protected.”
FlorCruz described how she felt as a 17-year-old victim of sexual assault.
“I never wanted to tell that story. My reasons for not telling about it are the same reasons that most victims don’t want to tell. It’s shaming.
“Though I was not at fault, I am ashamed to tell about it. It’s because it’s very intimate. It shows me to be degraded, it shows me to be unsophisticated, unaware and not in control of my own environment. I was taken advantage of. Who wants to tell people that? I wondered what it was that I’d failed to do. How had I allowed that to happen?”
She noted that the event spurred changes in her behavior, that she was very ashamed and she became standoffish to people.
FlorCruz quit the track team, she had academic problems, and chose to attend a different school.
“I was choosing life and I was reaching out, characteristics of a survivor,” FlorCruz said.
What should have been a new start proved to be just as dangerous a situation. At West Point, FlorCruz was assaulted while she was inebriated and isolated. The perpetrator was someone she knew, but regarded negatively.
“I tried to fight back, but could not overpower him - I did discourage him enough to leave,” FlorCruz said.
“I was frightened, I felt nauseous, and defiled. I went to the shower and turned on the water as hot as I could stand it, which is a universal response of victims.”
Showering is discouraged as it would compromise DNA evidence, but FlorCruz realizes that it’s a pretty hard sell to a victim.
“For me it was more of a psychological cleansing, a very metaphorical removal of any traces of him.”
FlorCruz went into detail on the procedures for medical examination following sexual assault, describing it as invasive but necessary, and encouraged providing support for victims that must undergo the process.
“We’ve made that a priority in Army and Department of Defense hospitals,” she said.
The Army SHARP program focuses on treating people with dignity and respect and has protected reporting procedures.
“The best thing you can do for a victim is just listen, listen intently and compassionately. When someone needs to be heard, I hope that you will hear them,” FlorCruz said.
“When you can provide an environment that supports safe reporting of sexual assault victims we will all be providing an environment that impedes sexual predators and prevents rape.“
| Date Taken: | 02.17.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 02.19.2015 14:23 |
| Story ID: | 154874 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 164 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 7ID SHARP Director speaks to students, community on sexual assault awareness, by SSG Mark Miranda, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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