Why does the Numbers of Sexual Assault Continue to Increase in the Army

In this essay I will be talking about Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention and why the numbers of sexual assault does continues to increase in the Army. Of all the acronyms that the army has this one is known has SHARP. There are a lot of cases each month that directly or indirectly involve in SHARP. With this essay the reader will be able to understand how to report a case, how it works and some of the ways to help the stop of sexual harassment and assault. “Stand-to!” Is the new system that the army is trying to implement to each soldier to try to stop this? So far the cases have not stopped and the number of cases reported has increased. In the year 2016 there were about 14,900 service members that experience sexual assault. Some people may think this is bad because now we see more cases, but it is not because it means that more people are feeling confident to report a case. All this, but what is the SHARP?

SHARP is the program that is responsible to respond to any case that is brought to their attention. In other words it is a guidebook or reference tool for anybody that wants to file a report. The SHARP program is not something that is done by only one person it is done by every service member or civilian that knows about a case. You will find representatives in every post to be able to do all the paperwork but they can only do the paperwork once they know about a case. This program has a very specific way on how to file a complaint.

According to the U.S Army SHARP website, “Recent DOD reports showed 27 percent of men, versus just 9 percent of women characterized the sexual assault incident as hazing, and 39 percent of men characterized the incident as bullying compared to 24 percent of women. (U.S Army 2016) Men who are sexually assaulted in the military are much more likely than women to be assaulted at their duty station, during work hours, and much more likely to have experienced sexual harassment prior to the assault”

Due to the big responsibilities that the SHARP program has it must be done systematically. Once you bring a report to your supervisor or another service members that is when the process begin. If it’s a case of Sexual Harassment you can file a formal or informal complaint. A formal complaint is made by filling a DA Form 7279(Equal Opportunity Complaint Form) along with many others documents which must go to higher headquarters. The informal complaint can be solve by giving a counseling, clarifying the issue or with the help of another person. By doing this your leaders will know how to procced with this complaint. Every report is individual. This topic has a lot of influence on the army.

In my opinion this is something that must be worked out with individually with the help of psychologist. It doesn’t matter if the person has done something like this he should get to see a psychologist before something happens. According with U.S Army Speak up website. “Sexual Harassment is divided in three categories: verbal, nonverbal and physical contact. If you file a report for Sexual Assault it is divided by restricted and unrestricted” (U.S Army 2014). You should never stay quiet if you know any case. Use ACE which is Act, Care and Escort. Remember that we are one team and one fight.

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