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MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII - Marines and Sailors gathered with staff from the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program to participate in a freeze mob event April 14, 2015, at Mokapu Mall aboard Marine Corps Base Hawaii.
When given the signal, service members froze for three minutes and held up signs with messages about sexual assault awareness and prevention, providing information ranging from statistics to some contributing factors of sexual assault. The purpose of the event was to grab the attention of bystanders and get them to notice the signs, raising awareness for Sexual Assault Awareness Month, observed in April.
“We partnered up with the Marines and Sailors to hold a creative event for the Sexual Assault Awareness Month and we tried to do something different,” said Maricar Davis, the sexual assault response coordinator for Navy Region Hawaii. “Normally, we go out and (raise) awareness through training or briefs, but we wanted to find a different way to capture and draw attention to the issue.”
Capt. Penny MacCormack, a supply officer with 3rd Radio Battalion, said it’s important to try things that may be outside of the box in order to catch the attention of service members.
“Marines receive briefs every year for their annual training, but a lot of Marines tend to tune out because they’ve heard the same things over and over again,” MacCormack said. “This brings (service members) the information in a different way that would bring their attention to what’s going on around them. It’s important we do that because the Marine Corps, as a whole, is trying to reduce the amount of sexual assaults. (Marines should) feel like they’re safe knowing they’re around family, because (that’s what we are) — a brotherhood.”
MacCormack said the signs represented some key triggers and served as a reminder that sexual assault could happen to anybody.
“We want people to (know) sexual assault does happen and there are ways they may help prevent it,” MacCormack said. “The average (service member) may think sexual assault can’t happen to them, to their friends or to the people in their unit, so it’s important (they know) it can happen to anyone. With the more information they get, the better they can combat sexual assault and prevent it from happening to them or the others around them.”
Preventing sexual assault is a community effort and it’s important to know there are others willing to help, Davis said.
“(I hope people) saw the event or the number of volunteers there and I hope they think, ‘Wow, this is something that’s receiving a lot of support and attention from (my) peers,’” Davis said. “Hopefully we got the message out that, if you are a victim of sexual assault, you are not alone. It’s important that every Marine or Sailor knows what sexual assault is, how to identify it and knows what to do to prevent it. I think that’s the only way we’re really going to bring the number of sexual assaults down.”
LaTasha Banks, the installation SARC for MCB Hawaii, said she hopes to bring awareness to sexual assault, as well as the prevention and response program. She said she wants people to know where to go for help and that programs exist to assist anyone in need.
“We want to thank all the Marines and Sailors who came out,” Banks said. “Without them, this event would not have been the success it was. If you are a victim, it’s not your fault and there are resources available to assist you — we are here to assist you. (I hope) we can all work together in a collaborative effort to eradicate (sexual assault).”
| Date Taken: | 04.14.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 04.20.2015 20:15 |
| Story ID: | 160632 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 41 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Marines, Sailors freeze, raise awareness, by Cpl Harley Thomas, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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