Combating The Growing Number Of Sexual Violence Or The SHARP Program
The purpose of this essay is to discuss why cases of sexual harassment and sexual assault continue to take place in the Army. Even with all the training and education that takes place. Here we discuss factors that lead to Sexual Harassment Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) cases and how to mitigate them.
“Sexual assaults across the US military increased by a rate of nearly 38% in 2018.” The Rand DoD health report states “78.6 percent of service members perceive the military as a culture supportive of drinking.” CNN reports “62% of the most serious sexual assaults involved alcohol use by the victim and the offender.” In a culture, that supports drinking and an average age of 22 we must de-fantasize sex and drinking in the workplace to be effective at mitigating sexual misconduct. One way to minimize excessive drinking is to raise morale. With low morale comes heavy drinking and in return, you have young, immature Soldiers who will make terrible decisions.
This essay is not putting the blame on drinking. This essay is bringing to light several flaws in our culture. Another countermeasure is to take things that might be overlooked and address them fully. Such as making sexual jokes or doing things around the wrong company. The best approach to this is to cut them out of the workplace entirely. SHARP briefs are effective however, No matter how many briefs a Soldier attends, if they are only hearing and not listening it will be pointless. No one wants to sit for 3 hours listening to a monotone voice. However, it is a message we need to take seriously.
Soldiers’ living high-stress lives is also a big factor. 2006 was a high point in SHARP cases during the global war on terror (GWOT). Being that it was a not only a high point of the wars tempo, it also was in the beginning stages of gender integration in combat. Soldiers in high-stress situations will be more likely to make bad decisions. Add in the integration of the opposite gender and the likelihood will increase. Even though the amount of SHARP cases increased from 2017 to 2018, it has been steadily decreasing since 2006. Mostly due to the tempo of the war slowing down but also due to more effective countermeasures. We need to continue to be proactive and adapt to the ever-changing society surrounding us. Especially with the implementing of the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), having a gender-neutral grading scale will inevitably mean more females in combat roles. Being that most combat roles are made of alpha-type males, we must continue to improve and emplace more effective countermeasures.
In this essay, we discussed several factors that lead to sexual misconduct and ways we could better prevent them. The SHARP program is a great tool but it is just that. Without proper implementation, it becomes irrelevant. As our Army evolves, we have to evolve our prevention tactics. One thing we could possibly see in the near future is a program in which we merge substance and sexual abuse as they go hand in hand. We must fully acknowledge the problem before it is fixed. Starting with de-fantasizing the use of alcohol and sex within our younger Soldiers. It is possible; however, it takes hard work and dedication.
