SHARP
Leadership
Sensing sessions are an important tool leaders use to stay informed of what is important to soldiers. Recently,
several sensing sessions were conducted throughout the Battle Group. In these sessions, a discussion point was
made about the “paranoia” of working with females.
When you couple a unit comprised mostly of male soldiers and the recent push for SHARP training, it becomes
all too easy for paranoia to spread. Comments such as “we want to remove the risk all together and just avoid
them if at all possible” re?ects a soldier’s reluctance to interact with female soldiers.
This mindset can be detrimental to our ranks.
Imagine if leaders were to exclude females from performing tasks or if they were denied job opportunities because there was fear that working with them could lead to a SHARP complaint. In essence, this is comparable to
victimizing that female.
When the rumor-mill spreads that a female soldier may have been sexually assaulted, there is sometimes the tendency to group all female soldiers as potential victims. The stigma that all female soldiers are possible victims
potentially cuts that soldier’s career opportunities.
It’s every leader’s responsibility to squash rumors when they are heard. Education is a powerful tool. It’s important that soldiers understand the reported statistics and letting soldiers know that false reporting isn’t an issue
within your organization. Although it does happen, an investigation can prove the validity of a report.
Soldiers commonly believe that investigations are career enders. When an investigation is initiated soldiers are
?agged. Being ?agged for an investigation does not mean you are guilty; it is a regulatory administrative process and if you are found innocent there will be no further action. Leaders at all levels have the responsibility of
dispelling misconception. Ensure soldiers are getting educated on the truth and kill the rumors with facts.
The bottom line is to treat others, whether male or female, with dignity and respect and you can expect that these
types of incidents will not happen in your formation.
MNBG-E Victim Advocate/SHARP Specialist
1st Lt. Danielle E. Carlsen
In FY12, the DoD reported that there were 2,661 alleged sexual assault offenders. Of those, only 307 had insuf?cient evidence. Having insuf?cient evidence to make a conviction does not mean the sexual assault did not occur, just that there was not enough evidence to support the case. Sixty-two percent of the cases reported last year
were reported more than three days after the incident occurred. The amount of evidence that can be collected
with the Sexual Assault Forensic Examination (SAFE) kit severely drops after the ?rst 72 hours after the incident.
PG 12