Sexual harassment is an ongoing issue that has several possible outcomes for the individuals involved. There is absolutely no tolerance for sexual assault and harassment in the military. Sexual harassment is witnessed by several in the military, including false allegations of sexual harassment. It is the responsibility of all individuals to know and understand the Army’s SHARP program. Sexual harassment situations bring on several different possible outcomes, however, no one is control of the results of these outcomes. In the current situation, different steps must be taken in order to insure re-victimization does not happen. The following analyzes the steps and outcomes for the victim in the case at hand.
Discussion
Steps
The main goal in any sexual harassment situation is to eliminate the chance of re-victimization. While separating the victim may not be necessary in this situation, it is up to the Commander to decide what is best in order to ensure re-victimization does not happen. However, several steps must first be taken. The first step that should be taken is to contact PFC Nolan in order to assess the situation. During this meeting, all adequate information should be gathered in order to present findings to the Commander. After assessing the situation, if it is deemed that PFC is a victim of sexual harassment, the following steps should be taken.
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The next step that will be taken will be to make sure the victim is offered services in accordance with AR 27-10, chapter 18. During this step, the victim will be made aware and encouraged to exercise all available operation during the aftermath. All incidents of sexual harassment would be reported to SARC. If this becomes a legal matter, then the victim will also be consulted regarding pretrial/charging decisions. If needed, the victim’s family will also be provided with adequate resources. These resources consists of counseling, medical care, and information. After the victim is taken care of, then the alleged victim misconduct is dealt with in a timely manner and administrative separation may be made (AR 600-20, 2008, p. 76).
Law enforcement should always be contacted in all sexual assault situations. Also, if the victim’s request temporary living arrangements, such arrangements should be provided. All victims should be notified of their rights through DD Form 2701. The Commander is responsible for determining action plan to eliminate the possibility for re-victimization. This process may include moving the victim to a different unit. However, the Commander may feel like this is not the best decision for the situation. The Commander is responsible for listening to the victim in order to determine the best action plan for ensuring re-victimization does not occur again (AR 600-20, 2008, p. 76). In certain situations, the Commander may feel like it is best to leave the certain aspects of the situation up to the victim. In some circumstances, the victim is able to assess the situation better than the Commander.
One program that will be advised for the Solider to take is the Victim Advocacy Program. In this program, unit victim advocates (UVA) are used to provide victims advocacy by trained individual. There are two different UVAs for every battalion-sized unit (AR 600-20, 2008, p. 70). The victim will be advised of this program during one of the initial stages. After all steps are taken, feedback will be provided for the victims of sexual assault. The Commander will contact the victim fourteen days from the initial report. After this update, the Commander is required to provide the victim with monthly update on the current status of the investigation and/or medical and legal proceedings revolving the assault. The victim will receive monthly updates until the final disposition of the assault. After the final disposition, the Commander will meet with the victim within 45 days in order to ensure all of the needs of the victim have been addressed during the process (p. 77).
Possible outcomes
There are a couple of possible outcomes in the situation at hand. First, if the steps above are successful, then the victim should be able to maintain his/her duties. Adequate steps should be taken if this is the case in order to insure the victim is properly maintaining their duties. However, if the Commanders should listen to the victims to understand all relevant facts to the case in order to determine the best course of action to take. This is necessary in order to avoid re-victimization. In these situations, the Commander may move the victim to a different unit. On the other hand, the Commander may feel that the move may be perceived as a result of reporting the incident. When confronted with such conflict, the Commander may feel like it is best to let the victim decide on what would be best. This outcome is due to the fact it is the Commanders responsibility to make sure the situation does not happen again.
Moving the victim may not be needed if the situation is different. For example, if the individual provoking the harassment ends up receiving punishment, then it is that individual who will be taken out of the situation. In this situation, the victim does not have to be moved. However, the victim should still be monitored throughout the process to monitor adjustment. During this time, any services used by the victim will be monitored and provided with any needed resources throughout the investigation or judicial process. Once the punishment is over, the situation will be further assessed in order to decide further action is necessary. In this situation, however, SPC Andrews will not have any type of severe punishment.
Rumor actions
If the situation turns out to be a rumor, the same steps and procedures should still be taken. All regular protocols should be in place in rumored situations. The situation should be still reported to law enforcement and investigated through the installation provost marshal (AR 600-20, 2008, p. 75). Proper steps still need to be taken regardless of alleged rumors. If approached, it is a duty to report and take such situations seriously.
AR 600-20
According to AR 600-20, in order to make sure the Commander has all the facts a leader needs to gather as many details as possible regarding the situation. Once all necessary information is gathered, it should be given to the Commander in a timely but organized fashion. This can help ensure that the Commander has all proper documentation in order to analyze the situation at hand. After reviewing all necessary information, the Commander should then be able to address the victim and make adequate assessments (AR 600-20, 2008, p. 80).
Conclusion
Law enforcement should always be contacted in all sexual assault situations. Regardless if the situation is a possible rumor, adequate steps should always be taken. Sexual harassment is not tolerated in the military and is taken extremely seriously. Due to this, all allegations must be taken seriously as well. The main goal of these situations is to eliminate re-victimization. That is the Commanders priority in these situations. However, every situation is different and should be examined based on its own unique characteristics. In the current situation, the victim should be moved to a different unit and an investigation should be conducted.
- AR 600-20 (2008). Prevention of Sexual Harassment. 67-157.
- U.S. Army (2016). Policies. Accessed 7 September 2016, from http://www.sexualassault.army.mil/Template-Policy.cfm?page=policy_changes.cfm.
