The U.S. Army Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) Program reinforces the Army's commitment (Army's Tri-signed Letter ) to eliminate incidents of sexual harassment and assault through a comprehensive policy that centers on awareness and prevention, training and education, victim advocacy, response, reporting and accountability. Army policy promotes sensitive care and confidential reporting for victims of sexual assault and accountability for those who commit these crimes.
Sexual assault is a crime. The Department of Defense (DoD) defines sexual assault as intentional sexual contact, characterized by use of force, physical threat or abuse of authority, or when the victim does not or cannot consent. Consent should not be deemed or construed to mean the failure by the victim to offer physical resistance. Additionally, consent is not given when a person uses force, threat of force, coercion or when the victim is asleep, incapacitated or unconscious. Sexual assault includes rape, non-consensual sodomy (oral or anal sex), indecent assault (e.g., unwanted and 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.
Go to a safe location away from the attacker.
Contact your local SARC, VA, Healthcare Provider, or the Ft. Belvoir Sexual Assault Hotline. You also may contact your chain of command or law enforcement (military or civilian); however if you do, an investigation will be initiated through the appropriate Criminal Investigative Service or local law enforcement agency.
Seek medical care as soon as possible. Even if you do not have any visible physical injuries, you may be at risk of acquiring a sexually transmitted disease or become pregnant. Ask the healthcare provider to conduct a sexual assault forensic examination to preserve forensic evidence. If you suspect you had been drugged, request that a urine sample be collected.
Preserve all evidence of the assault. Do not bathe, wash your hands, eat or drink or brush your teeth. Do not clean or straighten up the crime scene. Write down, tape or record by any other means all the details you can recall about the assault and your assailant.
Sexual harassment is a form of gender discrimination that involves unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature between the same or opposite genders when submission to, or rejection of, such conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, work performance, or creates a hostile or intimidating work environment.
Document the incident as soon as it happens. Jot down the date, time, location and nature of harassment.
Report the matter to a human resources representative, the direct manager or supervisor of the offender. If you are military, you can also contact the Equal Opportunity Advisor (EOA) at Ft. Belvoir at (703) 805-2288/5390/5387. If you are civilian, please contact the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Office at Fort Belvoir at (703) 805-2006.
Verify the claim in writing when you report the incident to the manager, Human Resources (HR) representative or other professional.
Follow up with the person handling the complaint and receive updates on the investigation. As with verifying the claim, do all follow-ups in writing.
If the employer fails to take action or retaliates against the complainant for making the claim, talk to a lawyer. A legal professional can help with filing a formal sexual harassment complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden join with various sports leaders in this Public Service Announcement to raise awareness about dating violence. Despite the significant progress made in reducing violence against women, young women continue to face the highest rates of dating violence and sexual assault.
With a combined cast of over 40 individuals from all walks of life—entertainers, athletes, government officials and advocates—the NO MORE PSA Campaign offers a simple call to action:
NO MORE excuses.
NO MORE silence.
NO MORE violence.
If you are part of Warrior Care and Transition (WCT), you can report sexual assault by contacting :
Also personnel can text their location or zip code to 55-247 or online chat with a counselor at www.safehelpline.org 24 hours a day.
