Posted on Mar 26, 2014
How would we know if the culture is changing in reference to attitudes towards Sexual Assault and Sexual Harrassment?
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In other words, is it measurable? Is there a way to bring new statistical facts to the program in order to assess intelligently the changes instead of relying upon assumptions?
SHARP
Army
Air Force
Marine Corps
Navy
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 3
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As an EOL working with the UVA, I am asking a similar question.
Currently, I do not think that it is measurable as of yet. We do not have a base line to measure from.
My theory is that the military is preaching how to report an incident and it is effective. That is why we are discovering more incidents of sexual assault and harassment. I also believe the media's involvement highlights the issue.
This being said, I do not believe that sexual assaults and harassment are on the rise.
Bear in mind this is a theory and I may be wrong.
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SFC (Join to see)
SGT McCue, I definitely agree with you. There will be an increase in cases as the reporting procedures become more effective and also confidence grows within the ranks for the victims. There will be a spike in cases when you improve your system before you will see the decline in numbers.
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I think it is measurable. When people figure out that no means no, we are succeeding. For whatever reason, it seems that this is the biggest problem. I can't tell you how many times I have heard, "well, yeah she said no, but I could tell she was just playing hard to get and she really wanted it." When we have situations where sexual harassment is happening and someone has the courage to step up against it without getting chastised by the group, then we are succeeding. When commanders and senior leaders stop acting like the SHARP program is a burden and start taking it seriously, then we will be succeeding. I could go on all day with this stuff, because it is what I have seen time and again as a Victim Advocate.
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SFC (Join to see)
You always have great answers SFC Tierney. Thank you! Your feedback as a Victim Advocate is very valuable as it also adds to creating the change that we need
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SFC (Join to see)
Thanks SFC Biddle! I know I can't change the culture by myself, but I will do what I can to encourage others to do what is right. I can only hope that doing what is right catches on and that is when I think we will have cultural change.
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Is it measurable? Certainly. Has enough time passed where we have quantifiable data to determine if SHARP has made a positive impact on the organization as a whole? I do not think so. My Battalion first stood up the program in 2010, and I'm not sure how long it has been on the AD or Reserve sides of the house.
We as first line leaders should have a pulse on our unit, but like everything else we can only effect positive change in our AO. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it'll help our organization.
We as first line leaders should have a pulse on our unit, but like everything else we can only effect positive change in our AO. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it'll help our organization.
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SFC (Join to see)
Great! Unfortunately for most organizations I don't feel that there is a long enough continuity of people in these positions in order to see through all of the changes that are attempted to be made and I have seen time and time again systems fallen through the cracks as soon as there is a change over of personel. This would also make it harder for measuring change in a unit over a period of time past 1-2 years
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SFC (Join to see)
I fully agree. I think DA needs to track this over the whole organization for just those reasons, so they can get quantifiable results out there to you and me at the unit level. PCS or ETS shouldn't have any effect on the numbers of reported incidents, so long as the info is being compiled properly.
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