Bystander intervention training ensures Airmen are part of solution

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Katherine Windish
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  The sexual assault response coordinator here recently wrapped up a training initiative intended to highlight the importance of bystander intervention, remind everyone on the sexual assault reporting process, and highlight the purpose of the SARC and victim advocates.

Rebecca White, the 31st Fighter Wing SARC, said studies have shown that many people don't intervene if they see something because they may feel it's not their place to do so, or they feel they don't have the tools to be effective and don't want to make the situation worse. In an effort to provide wing personnel with the tools to recognize and prevent possible sexual assault situations, she said six bystander intervention training experts spent the first half of 2012 educating military members and civilian leaders at Aviano Air Base on how to make a difference.

"The bystander intervention training is used to help Airmen recognize the dangerous and potentially harmful situations that surround them on a regular basis," said Senior Airman Rikki Gilbert, a Sexual Assault Prevention and Response program bystander intervention facilitator. "If we can recognize these situations and know what we can do as Airmen to help out, then we can prevent the sexual assault from ever occurring in the first place."

During the training sessions, members are taught to access the situation and how to diffuse it. The wing's SARC said seemingly insignificant actions can progress into something hazardous, and is why it's so important for people to be able to identify what's going on and intervene before the situation escalates.

"A lot of the feedback we got from the lowest ranking Airmen to the leaders who had to take the class all said 'It truly opened our eyes,'" White stated. "This isn't just something you read about in the newspaper, or that you see on TV, we really can be part of the solution ... instead of just standing aside and watching the world go by."

The training also provided attendees a refresher session on sexual assault reporting and highlighted the difference between restricted and unrestricted reporting. According to White, both methods result in victims receiving the same level of care; however, restricted reporting is completely confidential and unrestricted entails a full investigation.

Regardless of the method a victim chooses, White said, "the goal is to give Airmen, and now, [adult] dependants of military members, the option to repair what might have been done and seek medical assistance and counseling. It is 100 percent about the victim and victim care."

For information about how to become a victim advocate at your home station or while deployed, contact your nearest SARC office. At Aviano, you can call DSN 632-7272. To learn more about the Air Force SAPR program, go to http://www.afpc.af.mil/library/sapr/index.asp.