“The end of April does not mark the end of our effort to raise sexual assault awareness. We must build upon the momentum we have generated this month and move forward together, as one team, to develop a resilient and ready force that is intolerant of sexual assault.” – Vice Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Mark Ferguson
Adm. Ferguson will host a town hall discussion on sexual assault awareness and prevention in Pensacola, Fla. April 30 at 1 p.m. (CST), which will be live streamed on The Pentagon Channel, Navy social media platforms, and direct to Sailors at sea.
Throughout April, the Navy focused on four themes: Hurts One, Affects All, Prevention is Everyone’s Duty, and We Will Not Tolerate Sexual Assault. During the hour long event VCNO and an expert panel will recap lessons learned throughout the month, encourage continued discussion at the unit level and talk about upcoming Navy prevention and awareness training.
The panel discussion moderated by Jill Loftus, director of the department of the Navy sexual assault prevention and response office will highlight victim advocacy resources available in the fleet, ongoing prevention efforts and Sailor lead programs to curb destructive behavior. An audience of 1,500 Sailors and Internet viewers worldwide will participate in the event by asking questions and providing feedback on current Navy sexual assault awareness and prevention efforts.
Key takeaways on sexual assault:
• Sexual assault is my problem, your problem, our problem.
• Navy is executing a multi-faceted approach to awareness, prevention, victim response and offender accountability.
• Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) is only the first phase of a larger, focused initiative to help foster command climates where reporting sexual assault is embraced and prevention is the focus.
