AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy -- Air Force Sexual Assault Response coordinators are stressing education and awareness about sexual assault throughout April as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Sexual assault affects every Airman in the Air Force whether they realize it or not. It is everyone's responsibility to prevent an assault from occurring whether as onlooker or a friend.
Sexual assault is defined as intentional sexual conduct, characterized by use of force, physical threat or abuse of authority or when the victim does not or cannot consent. Sexual assault includes rape, nonconsensual sodomy, indecent assault (unwanted, inappropriate sexual contact or fondling), or attempts to commit these acts. Sexual assault can occur without regard to gender, spousal relationship, or age of victim.
Anne Munch, sexual assault and response program educator from Denver, Colorado, teaches Airmen and leaders to think outside the box when it comes to sexual assault. On April 5 and 6, Mrs. Munch visited Aviano to provide an informational and awareness briefing on sexual assault.
Mrs. Munch worked as a District Attorney in Denver Colorado until 2003 when she was recruited by the vice commandant of the U.S. Air Force Academy to assist with the sexual assault cases that were happening at the time. After the cases were closed, she was asked to travel to Air Force bases around the world and give her briefing called "Sexual Assault: Unnamed Conspirator."
The briefing focuses on getting Airmen to look at sexual assault and how it happens, in a new way.
"This brief gives Airmen an idea on how to prevent a crime from happening and have a more active role in stepping in to stop it," said Mrs. Munch. "People's ideas and attitudes sometimes shape the world and the way we see it"
Her main focus is the unnamed conspirator, societal views on how most people think of assaults, and why or how it happens depending on people's views and personal morals.
The unnamed conspirator sometimes sneaks up and Airmen don't even know it. Mrs. Munch gave an example of two men standing side by side. One man was dressed in a nice suit and the other was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. A robber came up behind them and chooses the man in the suit. The man in the suit says to the man in jeans "why did he rob me?" The man turns towards him and says, "well, look how you are dressed."
"Women and men alike do not want to put themselves in a situation where an assault could happen if at all possible but the way Airmen dress has nothing to do with it," said Mrs. Munch. "For example some men say women who dress to provocatively were asking for it or vice versa."
Mrs. Munch works and educates everyone in the Air Force from leadership to Air Force Office of Special Investigations to the lowest ranking Airman.
"Everyone in the Air Force in one way or another, I have been involved with educating on the subject," she said, "If a person is ever in a situation where something in their gut tells them this could be bad, figure out a way to intervene and make sure you break up that interaction so you are not looking at the damage the next day or getting a phone call."
There are three simple ways to break an unwanted interaction between two people. The first is called the "the distraction technique" where a wingman distracts a buddy with a call on their cell phone or a big plate of cheese fries at the table. The second is "the swarm" where the wingman gathers up friends or people nearby and swarms around the friend in trouble and pulls them out of the situation. The third one is "the straight up" where a wingman would go up to a friend and pull them away from the situation by saying "you are getting out of control and we need to go."
There are three categories of how to report a sexual assault. Unrestricted reporting is any report of sexual assault made through normal reporting channels including the chain of command, security forces or Air Force Office of Investigation.
The second is restricted reporting, which allows a victim to report a sexual assault without triggering an investigation. It is intended to give the victim time and control over the release of their information. Further, it also empowers the survivor to make an informed decision about participating in the criminal process.
The third is independent reporting, which any Airman who has witnessed a sexual assault of a victim who is unconscious or incapacitated can file a report to SARC or Air Force OSI of what they have witnessed.
"You as the witness have an obligation to report what you have seen," said Staff Sgt Priscilla Anderson, 31st Fighter Wing SARC administration noncommissioned officer in charge. "The most rewarding part of the job is seeing a survivor gain their independence back."
For more information or to report an assault, contact the Aviano SARC office at 632-7272(SARC) or visit building 220 in Area 2.
(Some information courtesy of the Sexual Harassment Army Response Program Web site at http://www.sexualassault.army.mil/)