Fort Benning sheds light on sexual assault during sexual assault and prevention month – WRBL

FORT BENNING, Ga. (WRBL) April is National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. To highlight this, Fort Benning has partnered with The Army Sexual Harassment Assault Response and Prevention Program to bring awareness to the issue.

Out of the four branches, the Army and Navy had the highest reports of sexual assault, according to the most recentdatafrom the Department of Defense. In the fiscal year of 2019, therewere2,684reportsofsexual assaultmade by service members in theArmy.

To bring awareness to the issue, an informative session was held at the McGinnis-Wickam Hall Thursday morning to discuss and report sexual assault cases. This years theme is Building Cohesive Teams through Character, Trust and Resilience. Protecting Our People, Protects Our Mission. The Deputy Commandant of the United States Army Armor School, Colonel Sean Barnes, told News 3 why this event is important.

We have this ceremony to bring everybody together, Colonel Barnes said, to talk, communicate and share our experiences as we go into April, with other events that bring awareness to our soldiers and our leaders that this is a continual problem.

Colonel Barnes also said women arent the only ones being sexually assaulted; and men, between 18-24, are becoming victims, too.

Each year during SAAPM units and organizations across the Army have activities and training to bring awareness to sexual assaults that may take place within the Army community.

Kyle Bair, Executive Director of The Center at 909, tells News 3 shes glad she can help those who have been sexually assaulted.

Its unfortunate that there are as many survivors as there are but were so happy to help people and support them through the process, Bair said.

Even if a survivor chooses not to report the incident, the organization still supports them. Bair said sexual violence doesnt just affect survivors but it affects those around them such as family and friends.

Bair told News 3 that there is a difference between a victim and a survivor, some chose to claim the word victim and others chose to claim the word survivor.

This is a crime committed against you, you are a victim of a crime, Bair said, but survivor is what we all want to realize they can be. We can help them through the healing process, support them through the healing process. So we tell everybody if you survived this crime, that is amazing.

Officials at Fort Benning want those to know they can report these types of crimes to whoever they trust, it doesnt matter how long ago the incident took place. Leaders at Fort Benning come together every month to find ways to help those who have been assaulted.

This command takes this seriously, every month we talk about how to get better and how to get treatment and to get our soldiers that have been in contact with sexual assault to get them back on their feet, Colonel Barnes said.

Colonel Barnes wants soldiers to know there are more than enough people on base who they can report these types of incidents to.

There are more than enough people here on this insulation that will listen and take you seriously and get everything in motion to help you first and then make sure the perpetrator is brought to justice, Colonel Barnes said.

Sexual assault awareness and prevention programs will be taking place all month at the Fort Benning base. Bair wants those to know that you can say no without saying no by no longer engaging in the activity, letting them know your boundaries have been crossed or by saying stop.

I do want people to understand that no is not necessarily involved. The law doesnt require a no but many people will not establish the boundary or do not establish the boundary, Bair said no should not be apart of it, if theyve stopped or withdrawn or asked you to stop then it should stop.

You can report a sexual assault crime to DoD Safe Helpline 877-995-5247.

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Fort Benning sheds light on sexual assault during sexual assault and prevention month - WRBL