SHARP summit emphasizes prevention

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. —Soldiers, civilians and advocates pledged to be “more than idle bystanders” during the sixth annual Sexual Harassment Assault Response Program Summit held  in-person and virtually Nov. 29, 2022, in the APG Mallette Auditorium.

The program was hosted by the APG Fusion Directorate. This year’s theme is a call to action, “Prevention Starts with You.” The summit emphasized the importance of avoiding the bystander role; when you see something, say something.

APG Senior Commander Maj. Gen. Robert L. Edmonson II was the keynote speaker.  He said prevention begins with “every one of us,” and all employees deserve to have a healthy and safe workplace.

Edmonson explained that, historically, the Army stands to prevent bad behavior and actions. He mentioned the Army preventing Nazism from making its way across the globe.

“And you look at today, inside this Army what we are doing, whether it is directly or indirectly we all are contributing to the prevention of Russian aggression inside Ukraine,” he said. “And so, teammates, I ask quite simply if we can prevent for others then why can we not prevent for ourselves?”

Edmonson said “there is still work to do” to prevent sexual harassment and assault in the Army.  According to a recent Department of Defense report, there were more than 7,200 reported cases of sexual assault and harassment against active-duty Soldiers in 2021.

He said according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, some of the reasons people choose to not report a sexual harassment or assault incident include:

• Not believing someone is going to help 
• Thinking that it is not important enough 
• Unknown consequences 
• Not wanting to get the perpetrator in trouble 

Edmonson said we must work hard to not only support the victims but to prevent these actions from happening in the first place. There is no place for sexual harassment in our Army, he said.

“It is our job, especially those who are supervisors and leaders to make sure we are creating a culture of support,” he said. “The onus falls on us to make clear that our workforce across CECOM [U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command], across APG and across the Army that sexual harassment and assault will not be tolerated.”

Edmonson asked attendees to think about what they can do to keep their teammates safe and create a positive working environment. This can include stepping up and saying something when you see an inappropriate behavior or hear an inappropriate joke or comment.

“Believe it or not, it’s sometimes those incidents that take place that generate an environment that could lead to sexual harassment and worse yet, assault,” he said. “Be the voice shouting out that this will not be tolerated in our offices, our installation, or our Army. It is essential that we work together to maintain this culture of what is acceptable because only then can unacceptable behaviors be defeated.”

After Edmonson’s remarks a skit, featuring the theater group Interactive Advocacy, demonstrated that the impact of sexual assault not only negatively impacts the survivor but also the team and community.

After each portion of the skit Tanya Jones, Interactive Advocacy CEO and Dr. Charlson Gaines, a U.S. Air Force veteran and corporate emotional intelligence trainer, would discuss what happened in the scene.

Gains told the audience we do not talk enough about the impacts of sexual harassment, which is unwanted sexual behavior. Inappropriate jokes and comments can create a hostile work environment.

“Sexual harassment is dehumanizing,” he said. “It’s disrespectful and creates an environment where sexual based behavior is acceptable.”

The facilitators led an exercise in which attendees wrote their names and character traits on a piece of paper. Jones then asked the audience to crumble the paper into a ball and straighten it back out. This exercise represented the effect of trauma.

The facilitators then brought a weighted backpack around the crowd so they may each carry the burden of trauma while adding in their papers from the prior exercise.

“Some of us carry the weight of trauma our entire lives,” Jones said.

This exercise was meant to represent the continuum of harm. As the backpack was carried from one person to the next, the weight became heavier to bear. The last recipient of the backpack was Edmonson, showing how even leadership is affected by this continuum of harm.

In the afternoon, attendees participated in prevention workshop breakout sessions led by Dr. Donna Ferguson, mental health and wellness program manager from the U. S. Army Criminal Investigation Division, and Dr. Joie Acosta, a senior behavioral/social scientist at the RAND Corporation, a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges. Attendees had the chance to ask questions and provide feedback to presenters.

The summit also included a video, in which APG senior leaders took a stand against sexual harassment and assault. In another video, attendees learned about the services provided by the APG Fusion Directorate, which opened earlier this year. The center prioritizes victim care by providing full services in one centralized location. The video also explained the duties of sexual assault response coordinators and victim advocates who value privacy above all else. At the APG Fusion Directorate survivors can receive medical, legal and investigative help. The redesign and restructure of the Fusion Directorate is based on the Army’s People First priority.

Attendee Lorraine Turner, a  CID wellness counselor for APG, said she appreciated the speakers,  interactive role playing and the skit.

“The actors were incredible,” she said. “Everything was very real, the language they used was very real.”

Important information 

If you need to contact the Fusion Directorate Center for information or to report an incident, please refer to these resources:

APG 24/7 Sexual Assault Hotline 410-322-7154

DoD Safe Helpline 877-995-5247

https://www.safehelpline.org

usarmy.apg.cecom.mbx.sharp-resource-center@mail.mil

https://www.facebook.com/APGMd#!/APGSHARPResourceCenter?fref=ts

For more photos, visit: SHARP summit emphasizes prevention- Nov. 29, 2022 | Flickr