Do you feel your service's approach to SAPR training is effective? Why or why not?

2014-05-22T23:10:57-04:00

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/07/10/is_sexual_assault_really_an_epidemic?wp_login_redirect=0
"There's no question that the military needs to do more to address the problem of sexual assault. Nevertheless, when you look more closely at the statistics, there's much less reason than commonly assumed to condemn the military."

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 22 at 2014 12:28 PM

2014-11-22T12:28:28-05:00

TSgt Private RallyPoint Member I saw no one replied to your post. I think that says a great deal about how this topic is treated in the military. There are a lot of similar threads on RallyPoint---I'm next going to have a look to see how often those posts generate responses. My guess is that folks don't want to engage on this topic. Thanks for posting the FP link--if there's one thing rarer than folks engaging on SAPR on RallyPoint, its folks posting questions/responses to academic research or good journalism.

My take on the article would be that the key paragraph is: "Here's what it adds up to: All in all, the rate of sexual assault in the military doesn't appear significantly higher than the rate in the broader civilian population -- and when you look at college campuses, which, like the military, are full of 17- to 24-year-olds, the military's sexual assault rates start looking low in comparison. The New York Times may be right to assert that the military has an "entrenched culture of sexual violence," but it would be more accurate to observe that the United States as a whole is characterized by an entrenched culture of sexual violence. Macho traditions notwithstanding, the military appears to have done a better job than most colleges of reducing the sexual assault rate and increasing women's willingness to report assaults to the authorities."

My take on SAPR training in the military: it isn't done well; endless, repetitive powerpoint-based training rarely is effective.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 22 at 2014 12:29 PM

2014-11-22T12:29:43-05:00

TSgt Private RallyPoint Member Had a look at similar postings. Seems yours is the only one (or, at least, the only one I found) that didn't generate many responses. Maybe you scared people off by posting a link to FP. Based on that, I'll have to adjust my previous comment--folks want to engage, just not if there's a link to FP involved!

Response by Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 22 at 2014 1:09 PM

2014-11-22T13:09:46-05:00

I believe we are catching a bad rap for this because of a couple of reasons. One is that the military is held to higher standard in public's eye. These are the things that people don't envisions their nations warriors doing. Back when i was in ROTC several polls showed that the public had more trust in the military than clergy. The other reason is that we have had a couple high profile cases involving more senior type of leaders that caught unfavorable attention. On being an Air Force Lt Col Fighter pilot who had the conviction overturned by the convening authority. That appeared to the public that he was being protected by his fighter community, where as a similar case involving a C-17 Squadron Commander had the conviction stick. Then there are the allegations of O-6's and some GO's getting a slap on the hand in the public's eye.