BATTLE CREEK, Mich. –
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services Sexual Assault Prevention and Response office raises awareness, provides resources and reaches out to the DLA community, their families and friends not only during the month of April, but also year-round.
DLA Disposition Services Sexual Assault Response Coordinator Robin Rogers resumed Teal Tea, an event that was postponed during the pandemic.
“The Sexual Assault Awareness Month theme is 'Step Forward to Prevent, Advocate and Report,'” she said. “Our goal is to spread awareness, work on prevention, and do what we can to advocate for victims and provide information and resources.”
Teal Tea stems from the public service announcement, ‘Tea is Consent,’ a popular video used for training and awareness. After inheriting antique tea sets, Rogers came up with the event to raise awareness and put the china to good use.
Palm Garden Room tables were adorned with teacup and saucer settings, sweet snacks, and assortments of tea.
While guests sipped on tea, the keynote speaker took the stage, Assistant Attorney General Division Chief of the Financial Crimes Division of the Michigan Office of Attorney General, and former Cass County, Michigan, prosecutor, Scott Teter.
He opened with a quote from Scottish philosopher Edmund Burke, “All that’s necessary for evil to triumph, is for good people to do nothing.”
Teter spoke about his experiences during his 30-year prosecution career and how people can help prevent and support victims of sexual assault.
“The difficult part about sexual assault is that even after you prosecute and even after you win, it’s never like it never happened,” he said. “You can’t go back in time to start as if it never occurred. All you do is try to take the damage and stop it from continuing - you’re never able to reverse it. The only thing that makes that worse, is for us to do nothing and to allow those people, who have been victimized, to live with the fact that nobody cared enough to make the right thing happen.”
DLA Disposition Services SARC provides the necessary tools and resources for prevention outreach and training to the workforce. The first step to sexual assault prevention is understanding what sexual assault is.
Addressed in the
DLA SAPR resource handout, sexual assault is defined as, “Intentional sexual contact, characterized by the use of force, threat, abuse of authority, or when the victim does not or cannot consent. This includes rape, nonconsensual sodomy, indecent assault, or any attempts to commit these acts. Sexual assault can occur without regard to gender, spousal relationship, or age of the victim.”
During his final moments on stage, Teter recited a story about a child whose singular choice motivated those around him to follow, and together they took a step forward to make one big change.
“I don’t know what your particular challenges are, and I don’t know what your responsibilities are, but I know there are no coincidences - we are here today for a reason,” Teter said. “Take a stance against sexual violence. So that wherever you are, in whatever role you serve, do the most you possibly can, to stop this because there is evil among us. Commit today, not to do nothing.”
Remember, a sexual assault is never the victim’s fault. It is never too late to call. Even if the assault happened years ago, the SAPR program can still help. Many victims do not realize that they need help until months or years later.
Resources:
- For more information about DLA SAPR, visit the program website.
- DLA 24/7 SAPR Hotline: 1-800-841-0937