WEBVTT 00:00.540 --> 00:02.840 I am First Lieutenant Edwin Wiley . I'm 00:02.840 --> 00:04.780 the assistant S two for the 100th 00:04.780 --> 00:07.002 Missile Defense Brigade and I am one of 00:07.002 --> 00:09.160 the brigades victim advocates . Over 00:09.160 --> 00:12.620 the years , I became aware of the 00:12.620 --> 00:14.731 impact that sexual assault and sexual 00:14.731 --> 00:17.070 harassment had on not only my family 00:17.070 --> 00:19.292 members , but a lot of people that were 00:19.292 --> 00:21.514 close to me throughout my life and that 00:21.514 --> 00:23.459 awareness drove me to become a big 00:23.459 --> 00:25.681 supporter of the army's Sharp program . 00:25.681 --> 00:27.514 I volunteered to become a victim 00:27.514 --> 00:29.737 advocate myself a little over six years 00:29.737 --> 00:32.110 ago now and the skills that I have 00:32.110 --> 00:34.166 learned and the training that I have 00:34.166 --> 00:36.332 received as a victim advocate not only 00:36.332 --> 00:38.110 helps me to support my military 00:38.110 --> 00:40.166 organization , fellow soldiers , but 00:40.166 --> 00:42.430 also those people in my life who have 00:42.440 --> 00:44.496 been survivors of sexual assault and 00:44.496 --> 00:46.630 sexual harassment themselves . During 00:46.630 --> 00:49.040 the annual sharp training that's 00:49.040 --> 00:52.630 conducted , there are often soldiers 00:52.630 --> 00:55.000 who unfortunately don't take the 00:55.010 --> 00:57.190 education as seriously as they might 00:57.190 --> 00:59.470 otherwise . And this may be because 00:59.480 --> 01:01.647 they don't understand the importance . 01:01.647 --> 01:03.869 They don't recognize the seriousness of 01:03.869 --> 01:05.980 the topic because either they haven't 01:05.980 --> 01:07.813 been affected by it in their own 01:07.813 --> 01:09.980 personal life . So I would say that we 01:09.980 --> 01:12.202 need to continue to help these soldiers 01:12.202 --> 01:14.258 understand the seriousness of it and 01:14.258 --> 01:16.313 the impact it has two survivors . We 01:16.313 --> 01:18.147 want to ensure that all soldiers 01:18.147 --> 01:20.369 understand the reporting requirements , 01:20.369 --> 01:22.591 the chain of command and what our roles 01:22.591 --> 01:24.591 as victim advocates are . I believe 01:24.591 --> 01:26.813 that we need to continue to ensure that 01:26.813 --> 01:29.750 soldiers understand the importance of 01:29.750 --> 01:31.650 what we're doing and to help them 01:31.660 --> 01:34.240 recognize how serious an issue it truly 01:34.240 --> 01:36.430 is for anyone who is a survivor of 01:36.430 --> 01:38.597 sexual assault and sexual harassment . 01:39.040 --> 01:41.790 So as a victim advocate , my role is to 01:41.790 --> 01:43.990 support any survivor of sexual assault 01:43.990 --> 01:46.830 or sexual harassment . 100 I have 01:46.830 --> 01:49.400 complete confidentiality . Anything 01:49.400 --> 01:52.180 that is shared with me will not leave 01:52.180 --> 01:55.650 me unless authorized by the survivor . 01:56.040 --> 01:58.207 I am there to support them through the 01:58.207 --> 02:01.090 entire process , from reporting the 02:01.100 --> 02:03.267 incident to me all the way through the 02:03.267 --> 02:05.280 investigation and to any conclusion 02:05.290 --> 02:07.640 that may occur resulting from the 02:07.640 --> 02:09.650 investigation . I am available to 02:09.650 --> 02:13.630 provide resources and support 24 7 . So 02:13.630 --> 02:17.030 we become 100% support system for any 02:17.030 --> 02:19.550 survivor of sexual assault or sexual 02:19.550 --> 02:22.040 harassment . And so I see my role as 02:22.040 --> 02:25.750 being that body , that human being to 02:25.750 --> 02:28.090 stand by a victim through the process 02:28.120 --> 02:30.287 to have someone that they can count on 02:30.287 --> 02:32.830 as part of their organization . I 02:32.830 --> 02:35.600 believe that we have all had people in 02:35.600 --> 02:37.822 our lives who have been affected in one 02:37.822 --> 02:39.822 way or another by sexual assault or 02:39.822 --> 02:41.822 sexual harassment and a skeptic may 02:41.822 --> 02:43.989 simply not be aware of how it affected 02:43.989 --> 02:46.220 people close to them . A lot of people 02:46.320 --> 02:48.770 believe in the stigma of sexual assault 02:48.770 --> 02:50.881 and sexual harassment and they aren't 02:50.881 --> 02:52.992 comfortable sharing it with people in 02:52.992 --> 02:54.992 their lives . And so you may not be 02:54.992 --> 02:57.103 aware of the impact it's had . And so 02:57.103 --> 02:59.214 you may not understand how serious it 02:59.214 --> 03:01.381 has been two people in your own life . 03:01.381 --> 03:03.603 That doesn't mean that we can't educate 03:03.603 --> 03:06.580 and promote a military free from sexual 03:06.580 --> 03:08.636 harassment and sexual assault . So I 03:08.636 --> 03:11.180 would say to anyone who is a survivor 03:11.190 --> 03:13.468 of sexual assault or sexual harassment , 03:13.468 --> 03:15.134 there are individuals in your 03:15.134 --> 03:17.480 organization that care . And so it may 03:17.490 --> 03:19.560 be uncomfortable and you may not be 03:19.560 --> 03:21.616 ready to come forward , but when you 03:21.616 --> 03:23.838 are , please seek out those people , we 03:23.838 --> 03:25.671 have resources for you and we're 03:25.671 --> 03:27.450 willing to help and stand by you .