(From left to right) Christopher B. Kaehny, IT specialist for U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications-Tactical and Sexual Harassment and Assault Response and Prevention Fusion Directorate victim advocate, participates in Human Resources Command SHARP Program Manager Charles Lay’s interactive demonstration for bystander intervention at the Myer Auditorium on April 11, 2023.
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — The Sexual Harassment and Assault Response and Prevention Fusion Directorate and U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications-Tactical co-hosted a guest speaker series event for Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month at the Myer Auditorium and Microsoft Teams, April 11, 2023.
The guest speaker series boasted special guests Marvin Locket II, a senior SHARP facilitator, and Charles Lay, the program manager of Human Resources Command SHARP, who offered insight on the male perspective of sexual assault and harassment, and bystander intervention respectively.
Maj. Gen. Anthony Potts, the program executive officer of C3T, provided opening remarks. Potts shared an anecdote about his time being a part of a sports team and standing up for his teammates when rivals played in an unsportsmanlike manner.
He compared this sports team to the APG workforce. “We [at APG] are a team,” he said. “The reaction should be just like that—if we see something where our teammates are being mistreated, we all have to jump in. We have to intervene the [sexual assault and harassment] process.”
Potts ended his opening remarks by asking the APG workforce to look out for one another by intervening when they witness harmful behaviors and passed the floor to Locket.
Locket’s presentation featured a series of videos and audience interaction.
Locket posed a question for the audience, “Is SHARP broken?” After taking answers from the crowd, he said that what is truly broken are the people expected to follow the rules, policy and procedures.
“We need people to act. We need people to intervene. We need people to prevent [sexual assault and harassment],” Locket asserted.
Locket stated that prevention and intervention start with the younger generation. Schools and parents should teach kids the importance of consent and bodily autonomy, he said.
Locket emphasized the role of mentors when it comes to relationships and sexual health education. “Our young generation doesn’t know [consent can be nonverbal],” he stated. “We keep telling them it’s either ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ but we don’t communicate like that. It comes in different forms.”
Locket’s presentation ended with a lesson about empathy over sympathy. “[Sexual assault and harassment are] the only crime where people judge [the victim],” he said. “As soon as we say sexual assault, people lack empathy. They end up pulling out their biases and victim blame. We need to understand what empathy is when people come to us because you are the immediate response. You need to understand that they came to you because they trust you.”
The final speaker, Lay, spoke with the audience about bystander intervention.
Lay began by explaining the five steps of the bystander intervention process:
1. Notice the situation.
2. Interpret it as a problem.
3. Assume personal responsibility.
4. Decide how to intervene.
5. Take action and help.
Lay stated that treating each other with civility could curb inappropriate behaviors.
“If we had more dignity and respect in the workplace, then we may not have these behaviors to begin with,” he said.
He also recognized barriers to intervention, like implication, threat of assault and what he called the biggest barrier—breaking the command structure.
“When it comes to sexual harassment [and assault], the time and place to address it is then,” he continued. “Because what we found is, if you address somebody on the spot, they’re more apt to change those long-term behaviors.”
Lay introduced the three D’s of intervention, a method that allows bystanders to operate around those common barriers: distract, direct and delegate.
Lay concluded his lecture by encouraging organizations to practice bystander intervention, not just teach it. “We try to build that muscle memory, that memory is done by us doing it and practicing it,” he said. “We have to do better in [our trainings]. We are not getting to the point of doing what we’re asking you to do. We’re not [physically] practicing it. So, my charge to you is this: work with your fellow people in your work area and practice it.”
The event finished with a question-and-answer panel for the in-person and online audience. The panel was assembled of professionals from all over the Army: Special Agent Jennifer Claunch of the Criminal Investigation Division; Tracy Marshall, APG SHARP program manager; Jamie Galentine, an Equal Employment Opportunity officer; Heather Evans of the Vet Center; Maj. Steven Quinzel, an APG deputy staff judge advocate; Sean Green, APG’s community ready and resilient integrator; and Dr. Joie Acosta, a senior behavioral/social scientist at the RAND Corporation.
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