Photo By 1st Lt. Katrina Heikkinen | First Lt. Earon Brown, 8th Fighter Wing public affairs deputy chief and alternate...... read more read more
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KUNSAN AIR BASE, South Korea - Members of the Wolf Pack continued to observe Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month with performances by Kunsan's Sexual Assault Theater Group and a silent walk here, April 24.
"During the month of April, the Department of Defense takes a concerted stand against sexual assault as it observes Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month," said Capt. Claudia Santos, 8th Fighter Wing Sexual Assault Response coordinator. "This year's theme is 'Eliminate Sexual Assault. Know Your Part. Do Your Part.' During the month of April, the wing comes together and promotes awareness and prevention measures to help eradicate sexual assault. Each of us can make a difference for others through our actions, whether it is as leaders, peers or subordinates."
The two SATG performances involved a perpetrator, a victim, a facilitator and bystanders, and the roles they all played in events that led to a sexual assault in the dorms after a night of heavy alcohol consumption.
"SATG performances at Kunsan give [the SAPR office] the opportunity to provide SAPR training via an interactive approach," said Capt. Keturah Johnson, 8th FW deputy SARC. "Traditionally, SAPR training is given through mass briefings or PowerPoint, but ultimately the goal is to engage Airmen and challenge them to consider their role in combating sexual assault. Demonstrating scenarios specific to the Kunsan environment not only allow individuals to see examples of how these incidents can really happen, but they also make the training much more relatable."
To provide a visual representation of every reported and unreported sexual assault at Kunsan since the inception of the SAPR program in 2005, the silent walk consisted of stanchions with helmets, each with a placard giving a summary of a sexual assault reported to the Kunsan SAPR office. In between each of the stanchions were two to three additional helmets symbolizing statistically unreported sexual assaults at Kunsan.
"We brief numbers all the time, but a visual can be much more powerful," Johnson said. "Physically seeing how many cases there are and how many go unreported is a very somber and humbling experience. I hope it can help people understand how much of a problem sexual assault still is, but also encourage them to want to be a part of the solution."
"It is important that the Air Force recognizes this month and continues to show that we have zero tolerance for sexual assault," Santos said. "Fostering a culture of dignity and respect and not allowing an environment that propagates crude jokes, offensive behavior, sexual harassment or unwanted sexual attention will help foster an atmosphere of safety and trust."
SAAPM events will culminate at Kunsan with a 5K/10K/half marathon at the fitness center on Saturday, April 25, followed by a SAPR-themed Bingo night on Monday, April 27, at the Community Activity Center.
| Date Taken: | 04.24.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 04.26.2015 21:25 |
| Story ID: | 161321 |
| Location: | KUNSAN AIR BASE, KR |
| Web Views: | 40 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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