April is Sexual Assult Awareness Month Published April 20, 2010 By Marie Vanover 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs Kirtland Air Force Base, NM -- April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The theme for the month is, "Hurts One, Affects All ... Preventing Sexual Assault is Everyone's Duty." Since 2005, the Air Force has established response structures to ensure a consistent level of care and support for victims of sexual assault. Additionally, the Air Force has implemented aggressive training and education programs to improve prevention. Kirtland's Sexual Assault Response Coordinator, Pamela Reeves, manages the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Organization. She has overall responsibility 24/7, 365-days a year, to respond and coordinate services for anyone at Team Kirtland who has experienced sexual assault. She is assisted by a team of victim advocates from across the base who help sexual assault victims obtain necessary services and provide crisis intervention, referral, and ongoing nonclinical support. The second half of the SARC's duties includes educating and training more than 5,000 Kirtland AFB workers on preventing sexual assault, including the new Bystander Intervention Training, which will be launched later this month, as well as reporting Ms. Reeves identified training and education as essential to preventing sexual assault. "The key is to ensure everyone understands their roles and responsibilities in preventing sexual assault. We not only educate people on what we can do to help them if they are a victim of sexual assault, we also educate them as to how to prevent sexual assault from occurring," she said. While individuals may be reluctant to report a sexual assault, Ms. Reeves wants to ensure everyone knows they have the option to report an assault and maintain confidentiality. "There are different reporting options available to each victim. To maintain confidentiality, victims should contact the SARC first so confidentiality can be maintained and reporting options explained." Although an office of one, Ms. Reeves said she couldn't do her job without the help she receives from the Victim Advocates. "Our victim advocates represent all areas of the base--they are trained and highly motivated, and ensure victims can make informed decisions about their situation while maintaining the same level of confidentiality." Victim advocates receive 40 hours of training before assuming their duties. They perform weekly on-call duty on a rotational basis, 24/7, ensuring victims receive appropriate help and care when needed. A victim of sexual assault always has the option to have a victim advocate assigned. Ten victim advocates serve Kirtland AFB, with experience ranging from one to 14 years. The victim advocates all have different reasons they chose to volunteer for this duty; however, across the board, one reason was consistent: they wanted to help and be there for victims of sexual assault. For more information, or to volunteer for service as a victim advocate, call Ms. Reeves at 846-6297 or e-mail Pamela.reeves@kirtland.af.mil.