Military Violence Prevention and The Sharp Program

“It’s not what we do because it’s not who we are.” This is the cultural change the U.S. Army is striving to achieve. In response to an increasing concern regarding sexual harassment and assault in the military, the Department of Defense (DoD) has implemented several measures to enhance the prevention, surveillance and reporting of sexual aggression and increase support for victims, primarily through programs such as SHARP. SHARP, or Sexual Harassment – Assault Reporting and Prevention, is a program designed to end sexual assault within Army ranks. The pressure on the military to “do better” has led to a massive increase in research and studies surrounding the matter.

Root causes and best practices in handling sexual assault are often complex and controversial, but as a whole, each member of the military carries a responsibility to provide safe conditions to work and carry out their duties. The Army has gone to great lengths to better understand how we can change for the better; the challenge lies in implementation and adoption of these practices across all senior leader training which will in turn trickle down to all levels of the Army.

Statistically, we have seen an increase in sexual assault reports within the U.S. Army over the last 10 years. Since SHARP has been adopted and its principles shared across all levels of our military, we still have yet to see a positive change in these statistics. While policies can be quick to change, social and cultural changes are often gradual.

In a study reviewing policy and research trends of sexual harassment in the Army, Stander and Thomsen suggest that “risk factors for sexual aggression may be overrepresented in military samples and unique aspects of military lifestyle, culture, structure and policy may heighten risk.” Meaning, our population of service members may have a predisposition to act sexually aggressive or abuse their position of power.

SHARP is aimed at eliminating sexual assault by ensuring a change of culture. Whatever pre-military background a soldier has should be acknowledged, and education on adapting a high standard of acceptable workplace culture needs to be established early and often. It’s up to each senior leaders to encourage self-policing of our peers and to lead by example to uphold the values that make up the Army’s values. Respect for others is a learned behavior that must be practiced daily and not just talked about during routine quarterly SHARP training.

There are many benefits to the Army SHARP Training. Changing the culture and strengthening the work place. Training can strengthen the organization can support and help strengthen an organization’s culture by communicating its values, goals, and policies in creative and meaningful ways that motivate individuals to act ethically, while protecting the organization and its reputation.

Training is one of the pillars of a holistic approach to preventing harassment and other inappropriate conduct. If everyone is responsible for contributing to a respectful, safe workplace, then it follows that Soldiers of all ranks should participate in training that provides the knowledge and skills they need to understand the interrelationship between preventing harassment, discrimination, anti-retaliation training, bias and other workplace conduct and creating a positive, inclusive work environment.

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