Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment

The US Army and Army National Guard have been experiencing an increased incidence of sexual assault and sexual harassment (SA/SH), both in garrison and in combat zones and have developed excellent resources for Soldiers and their Families to help them understand, prevent, and seek help when SA/SH incidents arise.

Sexual Assault
According to the National Center for Victims of Crime, "Sexual assault takes many forms including attacks such as rape or attempted rape, as well as any unwanted sexual contact or threats. Usually a sexual assault occurs when someone touches any part of another person's body in a sexual way, even through clothes, without that person's consent. Some types of sexual acts which fall under the category of sexual assault include forced sexual intercourse (rape), sodomy (oral or anal sexual acts), child molestation, incest, fondling and attempted rape. Sexual assault in any form is often a devastating crime. Assailants can be strangers, acquaintances, friends, or family members. Assailants commit sexual assault by way of violence, threats, coercion, manipulation, pressure or tricks. Whatever the circumstances, no one asks or deserves to be sexually assaulted." Sexual assault is never the fault of the victim. And a partner in a committed relationship does not under any circumstances have the "right" to force the other partner into any kind of sexual activity.

Sexual Harassment
According to the equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Virginia Commonwealth University, "Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, written, or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment or academic status, unreasonably interferes with an individual's performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment."¹ Sexual harassment is a "power play," usually occurring in a superior/subordinate situation, meaning that it is mostly a workplace- or school-based offense.

Sexual harassment is against the law. "Both victim and the harasser can be either a woman or a man, and the victim and harasser can be the same sex. Harassment does not have to be of a sexual nature, however, and can include offensive remarks about a person's sex. For example, it is illegal to harass a woman by making offensive comments about women in general.

"Although the law doesn't prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that are not very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted)."²

Sexual assault and harassment can lead to emotional and psychological trauma that last well beyond the incident(s). The Army's Sexual Harassment / Assault Response & Prevention (SHARP) program contains a wealth of information and resources for anyone dealing with these issues in any capacity - as personal experience, friend, colleague, supervisor, family member. Its I. A.M. Strong campaign is an especially important tool for educating all soldiers to be prepared participants in preventing SA/SH.

Additional Resources:

ARNG description of SHARP program. Downloadable pdf file with several great additional links:
http://www.arng.army.mil/soldierresources/Documents/Sexual%20Assault%20Prevention.pdf

The VA's Military Sexual Trauma site - great info and more hotline links:
http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/pages/military-sexual-trauma-general.asp

Footnotes:

¹ "Facts About Sexual Harassment," Virginia Commonwealth University, http://www.vcu.edu/eeoaa/pdfs/shfacts.pdf.

² "Sexual Harassment," U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/sexual_harassment.cfm.

FEATURED RESOURCE:

Sexual assault and harassment can lead to emotional and psychological trauma that last well beyond the incident(s). The Army's Sexual Harassment / Assault Response & Prevention (SHARP) program contains a wealth of information and resources for anyone dealing with these issues in any capacity - as personal experience, friend, colleague, supervisor, family member. Its I. A.M. Strong campaign is an especially important tool for educating all soldiers to be prepared participants in preventing SA/SH.