06/04/2023
April is Sexual Assault Awareness month, or as we like to call it in the Army, SHARP (Sexual Harassment Assault Response Program) awareness month. I did these painting for a SHARP themed art contest at Fort Sam Houston and won first place both in the fine art and Performing art category.
SHARP is very near and dear to me for multiple reasons. I’ve been the victim, I’ve been the villain, and the bystander. I was a victim at 5 yrs old, there many situations I could’ve intervened and chose not to or didn’t know how to, and others time I’ve been the perp. Many people don’t know how easy it is to be a perpetrator of sexual harassment/assault and many think that sexually assault is only ascribed to r**e, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. Any form of uninvited physical contact to the body whether sexually intended or not can be assault. You can be fully clothed and be violated or the violator. Sexual Harassment is any form of communication that is sexual in nature, context, or tone whether verbal or non verbal such as staring, blowing kisses, seductive winking, cat calling, sexual conversation/jokes, or sexually suggestive body language etc.
The best form of intervention is bystander intervention. If you are unsure what to do while witnessing a SHARP incident here are three options
1. Run, Tell dat- tell someone else what’s happening and they can intervene for you.
2. Change the subject- know a real funny joke? Throw it out there! Got some music, crank it up! Random dancing, separating the two parties in fun can change the tone of the environment real quick
3. Direct intervention- call it out! Best way to directly intervene is to pull the offended party to the side and ask them if they are okay, if they need to talk to someone and if so make sure they know their options. Of course there are many ways to intervene but this is one of the safest recommendations.
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