Courtesy Photo | Mike Domitrz, founder of The Date Safe Project held a sexual assault prevention...... read more read more
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GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - Guantanamo BaySexual assault continues to be a problem for the military and society at large; it is for this reason the Date Safe Project created the “Can I Kiss You?” program.
Members of Joint Task Force Guantanamo and U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay had a variety of showtimes to give everyone the opportunity to attend, June 10 and 11, which gave everyone a chance to see Mike Domitrz, the founder of the Date Safe Project, go through his “Can I Kiss You” program.
Military personnel are familiar with the usual sexual assault prevention training like Sexual Harassment/Assault Response Program. The Date Safe Project brings a new twist to this type of training with “Can I Kiss You.”
“This is obviously one of the Army’s top concerns, one of the Navy’s top concerns. Leadership needs to show that this is an important topic, and that should translate to the lower enlisted and the younger officers,” said Veronica Wruble, installation sexual assault response coordinator.
“Can I Kiss You?” is founded on three skill sets, according to Domitrz. The program teaches members of the audience how to make a difference and how to take positive action.
“Those three skill sets are; first, how to use your words, still make it sexy, respectful and passionate; number two, how to also intervene when there is a situation that doesn’t look right at a party or a bar, and you can stop sexual assault from taking place, and number three, how to help survivors come forward,” Domitrz said.
He said the best part of this training is hearing back from military members who will share their real-life stories of how they’ve changed their behavior, how it’s made their relationships deeper or when someone approaches him to say they never realized they had a choice before receiving the training.
“That’s the wonderful thing about this program. When people hear about SARC or SHARP training they have assumptions that it’s PowerPoint driven and statistically driven. What you find is that this is about engagement, this is about applying it to your life,” Domitrz said. “You might have preconceived notions, but we’re going to knock those out.”
The Windjammer Ballroom was packed with participants ranging from military members to civilians, which goes to show that there is a little something for everyone in this program.
“We’ve had great turnout. I think there have been 700 people here between both shows, and we’re hoping for more of the same. JTF has been in full force, and we appreciate that. They always support these kinds of things, and I think it’s necessary,” Wruble said.
Throughout the entire show Domitrz had the whole audience interacting with him. Asking them to respond to questions and come up on stage to provide a demonstration on how to ask for consent.
“It makes it much more personal, much more applicable, and then people are leaving with it in their life and that’s what really matters,” Domitrz said.
| Date Taken: | 06.11.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.16.2015 14:31 |
| Story ID: | 166819 |
| Location: | GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 177 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Can I Kiss You?, by SGT Elizabeth Smith, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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