Subscribe
YOKOSUKA, Japan - U.S. Navy Volunteers from Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY) wrote and performed scenes in a theatrical performance called Sailors Challenging Reality and Educating Against Myths (S.C.R.E.A.M.) at Benny Decker Theater, April 27.
S.C.R.E.A.M. is a local production composed of and directed by active-duty Navy volunteers and is meant to educate the Yokosuka community and create awareness about sexual assault, and to arm Sailors with the knowledge of what to do when being faced with inappropriate situations.
The director of the play, Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Dryden Penfold, had prior experience in directing and acting, and coached his peers through the various processes that come with putting on a stage play.
“When it comes to directing specifically, I think this reignited an old passion of mine that I had previously completely forgotten about,” said Penfold, the director of this year’s performance of S.C.R.E.A.M. “The volunteers are doing a great job, and this play clears up a lot of common misconceptions about sexual assault in our daily lives.”
The performance offers a different method, outside of standard military training, to educate about sexual assault and create general awareness.
“It also helps to break any stereotypes of sexual assault; sexual assault does not take gender nor sexual orientation into consideration,” said Angelique Bayon, CFAY’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) Victim Advocate Support Specialist. “S.C.R.E.A.M. demonstrates how you can help, and how Sailors can become active bystanders and prevent sexual assault. Training varies by command and unfortunately can become repetitive; this helps to change the structure and pace of training by making an impact on those who watch S.C.R.E.A.M.”
This greatly coincides with the overall goals of the SAPR program, which is to help victims of sexual assault. Those who are entitled to this service include active-duty military members, their adult dependents, and Department of Defense (DoD) civilians. The SAPR office is available 24/7 via the DoD SAFE Helpline, which may be called at 877-995-5247.
SAPR Victim Advocates provide information, referrals, and advocacy services. Onboard CFAY, the SAPR Civilian Victim Advocates give training during the Area Orientation Brief (AOB) to all newcomers. They also work alongside the Victim’s Legal Council (VLC) to provide the best service possible to their clients.
This mission statement was reinforced by the words of CMDCM Iris Velez, the command master chief of Region Legal Service Office (RLSO) Western Pacific, who delivered the opening remarks before the performance began.
“The basic premise is to encourage audience members, yourselves, to challenge one another on inappropriate behavior and how to engage in individual and collective means for social change,” said Velez. “The S.C.R.E.A.M. production is one of the Navy’s ways of raising awareness and highlighting its outreach efforts during the sexual assault prevention month.”
Once the production began, volunteers began to act out various possible real-life scenarios that Sailors and civilians could face when confronted with sexual harassment and assault.
“This was by far way better than any death by PowerPoint,” said Machinist’s Mate 1st Class Nilantonio Echevarriadiaz, a member of the audience after the performance. “It tried to show real-life situations, and yeah, I thought it was great.”
S.C.R.E.A.M. ended up being an effective and memorable medium to convey the serious topics that can arise when having a conversation about sexual assault. As the final performance came to a close, a lengthy applause echoed across CFAY’s Benny Decker Theater.
| Date Taken: | 04.27.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 05.01.2023 21:15 |
| Story ID: | 443550 |
| Location: | YOKOSUKA, KANAGAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 68 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, CFAY Sailors speak out against sexual assault during theatrical production, by PO2 Conner Houghtaling, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
