Shaquil Keels, Midshipman’s call and appeal to the Nation and World for unified and consistent efforts towards prevention of sexual assault; and the ACTION 2017: Read on it here!
A midshipman’s call
A midshipman from the United States Naval Academy, Shaquil Keels, member and peer educator of the academy’s Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention Education (SHAPE) program has appealed to one and all across the country to come together to work towards a future without sexual assault.
He said that the number of such sexual assault cases should be brought down and the survivors should be accepted by the society and not outcast. The behavior and culture need to change for achieving this. Awareness should be spread and one and all should be a part of this objective.
The Magnitude of the problem
Keels states that one in five women and one in 16 men suffer from a sexual assault during their college life. In more than 3/4th of the cases, a perpetrator is a person who is known to the victim personally and closely.
The last month released Department of Defense report reveals that the sexual assault cases have increased from 25 in 2014-2015 to 28 in 2015-2016.
Unwanted sexual contact which ranges from unwanted touching to completed penetration was found in 14.5% of female mids and 2.1% of males. This has risen from 8.1% and 1.3% respectively in 2014.
The report also found that alcohol drinking was the main factor responsible for such assaults. It was involved in 74% of such unwanted sexual contacts seen in females compared to 56% in males.
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What needs to be done
The Naval Academy advocates ‘appropriate’ and controlled use of alcohol. They also mean to talk to the mids in small batches to make them understand the importance of the problem and ways to tackle it.
When the midshipmen see the benefit, the behavior could change. The Academy also will participate with the Nation’s It’s On Us pledge to realize that nonconsensual sex is, in fact, a sexual assault.
The Academy’s superintendent, Ted Carter believes that addressing alcohol, healthy relationships, and consent will aid in decreasing the number of sexual assault cases.
Shaquil Keels feels that the voices of the victims need to be heard and we should amplify these voices and stand by them.
He wants all to take part in the It’s On Us Spring Week of Action during Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) at the campus and community level.
Events need to be held to rally peers towards a solution. All should be engaged in the three pillars of It’s On Us: Consent education, maximize bystander intervention, and create an environment that supports survivors.
The theme for this year’s SAAM is ‘Engaging New voices’ to help spread the message, awareness, and knowledge. He urged the leaders and organizational heads to come forward with novel and creative ideas to engage their peers in this great movement.
They could hold roundtable conferences with the government officials, have fun activities, do questionnaire sessions for groups, etc.
The need is to hold such programs. Keels also requested the campus leaders to discuss ahead and hold the events, no matter how big or small they are. Such programs would definitely leave an impact.
He pressed on stopping this sexual violence and change the culture around it. ‘Zero is the goal’ Ted Carter said though he was not sure how long this would take to materialize.
