Photo By Staff Sgt. Jordan Garner | Jacinta Howell, Moody's sexual assault response coordinator, poses for a photo in the...... read more read more
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The Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program reinforces the Air Force’s commitment to promote sensitive care and confidential reporting for victims of sexual assault and accountability for offenders.
Moody’s SAPR program, combined with violence prevention program, upholds this commitment by educating and connecting victims with the right resources for their care.
“One of the major tools the SAPR office uses for prevention efforts is education about what sexual assault is, grooming behaviors offenders use, who can be a victim, etc.,” said Jacinta Howell, Moody’s sexual assault response coordinator. “If we can get a person connected with resources to start their recovery, not only will it have a personal impact on them, but it will have a positive impact on the mission too.”
As extensions of the two-manned SAPR office, sexual assault response coordinators and volunteer victim advocates are available 24 hours, seven days a week for all active duty members, dependents 18 years old and above and Air Force civilians who may be victims of sexual assault and violence.
There are 15 victim advocates certified through the DOD Sexual Assault Advocacy Program available here in the event someone needs to report a sexual assault. The SAPR and Violence Prevention offices trained 200 facilitators of various ranks to hold small group discussions in their units to ensure Moody personnel are equipped to cultivate a sexual assault and violence free environment.
“My role is to help educate our service members on the warning signs of violence, teach them some basic preventative measures to violence, and help educate them on the appropriate response/action to take should they encounter a potential violent situation,” said Staff Sgt. Cathryn Godwin, one of Moody’s violence prevention facilitators. “I think it is important to facilitate these discussions so that every Airman understands the importance of asking those tough questions and knows where to send someone if they need help.”
In addition to facilitators and victim advocates, the SAPR office coordinates care with the Family Advocacy Program (FAP). While SAPR focuses on incidents involving acquaintances and coworker relationships, the FAP focuses on incidents involving intimate partners and families.
“Family Advocacy is a program that assists families when issues or concerns arise to ensure they are safe and have the resources needed to get them back on track,” said Angela Fox, FAP assistant. “When families are safe and healthy, Airmen can better focus on mission readiness.”
The driving force behind the SAPR program assisting service members and families is directly in support of 23rd Wing commander’s priorities to take care of the family and mission.
“I would hope that our program teaches others that when an Airman is taking the time to seek help that they are actually helping the mission in the long run,” Godwin said. “When an Airman knows that others care for their wellbeing and they are getting the help they need, they are more likely to bounce back and positively impact the mission.”
The SAPR program introduced the Catch a Serial Offender (CATCH) Program which gives victims of sexual assault making a Restricted Report an opportunity to anonymously disclose suspect information to help the Department of Defense identify repeat offenders. With CATCH, victims can discover if the suspect in their Restricted Report may have also assaulted another person, and having that knowledge, decide whether to convert their Restricted Report to Unrestricted to initiate an investigation of the serial offender suspect.
“Sexual assault trauma is too much for any one individual to carry by themselves,” Howell said. “What we want to do is make sure that people realize that they don’t have to carry that load by themselves. We can refer you to other people who will happily help you carry that load until it gets lighter. We encourage victims to reach out for assistance.”
If you have been sexually assaulted, please call the Moody SAPR Program’s 24/7 SARC Response Helpline at 229-257-7272 (SARC). For Domestic Abuse Victim Assistance 24/7 Response Helpline, call 912-217-6661.
| Date Taken: | 09.09.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 09.09.2021 11:11 |
| Story ID: | 404768 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 70 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Moody SAPR, FAP, Violence Prevention assist Airmen, by SSgt Jordan Garner, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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