Pentagon’s Sexual Assault and Prevention Office taking women seriously

Rape and sexual assaults are crimes that no one should ever ignore.

New campaign aims to stop sexual assault

By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Apr 3, 2009 14:49:01 EDT

The Pentagon on Friday launched a campaign to raise awareness of and prevent sexual assaults with a focus on what it calls “bystander intervention” — service members taking the initiative to step in when someone is about to be victimized.

The campaign, dubbed “Our Strength is for Defending,” is running throughout April in tandem with National Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Officials are employing posters, brochures and radio and TV announcements and focusing the campaign on 18- to-24-year-old men and women — the age range in which officials say most sexual assaults take place.

The campaign resembles a similar effort by the international advocacy group Men Can Stop Rape. That group’s campaign is focused on men; SAPRO worked with the group to adapt the program to the military and include women as a focal point.

“We all have a responsibility of intervening if we think a sexual assault is going to occur,” said Kaye Whitley, director of the Pentagon’s Sexual Assault and Prevention Office, or SAPRO.

The campaign goal is twofold, Whitley said: preventing sexual assault, and raising awareness of the issue.
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New campaign aims to stop sexual assault