NAVSUP Hosts SAAPM Speakers

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. (NNS) -- Naval Supply Systems (NAVSUP) Command Headquarters sponsored a Professional Speaker Series for Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month April 3 for military and civilians in Mechanicsburg, Pa.

Lt. Cmdr. Arcangelo Dell'Anno, NAVSUP's training and awareness officer, began the session with general information on sexual assault.

"There are people out there to help our workforce and we have Anne Brown Ebert and Melissa Rosenberger, from the Carlisle YWCA, Sexual Assault/Rape Crisis office, to explain how the community can help victims of sexual assault," he said.

He continued by describing two options available to victims of sexual assault, unrestricted and restricted.

"Unrestricted reporting triggers an investigation and commander's notification, which allows a person who has been sexually assaulted access to medical treatments and counseling. A victim cannot elect to change from an unrestricted report to a restricted report, which does not trigger an investigation or command notification of an alleged sexual assault occurred, yet protects personally identifiable information," he said.

He said restricted reports allow service members and military dependents who are adult sexual assault victims to confidentially disclose the assault to specified individuals (Sexual Assault Response Center (SARC), Sexual Assault Prevention and Response office (SAPR) Veterans Administration (VA), or healthcare personnel), and receive healthcare treatment. A victim can elect to change from a Restricted Report to an Unrestricted Report.

Dell'Anno shared these statistics:
* 44 percent of sexual assault victims are under the age of 18
* 80 percent of sexual assault victims are under the age of 30
* 38 percent of rapists are a friend or acquaintance of the victim
* 54 percent of sexual assaults are not reported to police
* 97 percent of rapists never spend a day in jail
* Every two minutes, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted.

Ebert, as the Rape Crisis Director, and Rosenberger, Prevention Education Coordinator for Sexual Assault/Rape Crisis Services at the Carlisle YWCA, aid rape and sexual assault victims by accompanying them to legal and medical proceedings, provide individual counseling for victims and their significant others, lead support groups, and sponsor prevention/education programs to professional and civic groups.

"All our services are free and confidential. If victims want assistance but don't want to report an incident, we're available 24-hours with a hotline. We can either talk on the phone or meet with victims in person," Ebert said.

"We share this responsibility together....Together we reinforce the importance of bystander intervention to help stop unsafe behavior," said NAVSUP Commander Rear Adm. Mark Heinrich.

The NAVSUP and Navy Supply Corps team share one mission--to deliver sustained global logistics capabilities to the Navy and Joint warfighter. NAVSUP/Navy Supply Corps' diverse team of more than 25,000 civilian and military personnel oversee a diverse portfolio including supply chain management for material support to Navy, Marine Corps, joint and coalition partners, supply operations, conventional ordnance, contracting, resale, fuel, transportation, security assistance, and quality of life issues for the naval forces, including food service, postal services, Navy Exchanges, and movement of household goods. The NAVSUP/Navy Supply Corps team forms a vast network of professionals who deliver unparalleled products and services to customers in the fleet and across the world.

Sexual Assault Prevention and Response is an important element of the readiness area of the 21st Century Sailor and Marine initiative which consolidates a set of objectives and policies, new and existing, to maximize Sailor and Marine personal readiness, build resiliency and hone the most combat-effective force in the history of the Navy and Marine Corps. The Department of the Navy is working to aggressively to prevent sexual assaults, to support sexual assault victims, and to hold offenders accountable.

Help raise awareness by joining the conversation on social media using #SexualAssault and #SAAPM.

For more news from Naval Supply Systems Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/navsup/.