<p>The U.S. Naval Academy issued the following news release:
By Martha Thorn</p>
<p>U.S. Naval Academy Public Affairs</p>
<p>The U.S. Naval Academy hosted a service academy conference focused on the prevention of sexual assault and harassment Nov. 13-15.</p>
<p>Representatives from the Air Force Academy, Military Academy, Coast Guard Academy, Merchant Marine Academy, Virginia Military Institute, the Citadel, and service academy preparatory schools discussed their programs. National experts in the field of prevention of sexual assault and harassment talked about the latest research and best practices in prevention, including prevention in the context of the service and military academy population. </p>
<p>“The overall objective was to educate other schools about what we do and learn about what they do,” said Midshipman 1st Class Ryan McGonigle, a sexual assault victim intervention (SAVI) program guide. </p>
<p>Karen Gentile is the sexual assault prevention and intervention specialist at the Naval Academy. </p>
<p>According to Gentile, the academy developed the conference to allow the institutions an opportunity to learn about one another’s programs. Gentile said the individual command presentations provided a great deal of useful information about how their programs evolved, including successes, failures and challenges. </p>
<p>Retired Air Force Col. Debra Gray, former vice commandant at the Air Force Academy, kicked off the conference with an overview of her experiences reforming the Air Force Academy’s sexual assault programming and of institutional reform in general. David Lisak, a professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts, presented the latest research on sexual assault perpetration and its implications for prevention. Other presentations covered the relationship between sexual assault and alcohol; sexual assault and the cultural influences; and the service academy culture and implications for prevention.</p>
<p>The conference also included workshops on various aspects of prevention. Three consultants, who have been working with the Naval Academy since August to develop a peer education curriculum, hosted these workshops.</p>
<p>Midshipman 1st Class Elena Moss, Brigade SAVI coordinator, listened carefully to the different approaches to sexual assault and harassment prevention. </p>
<p>“It’s everyone’s responsibility to prevent it,” Moss said. “We shared a lot of good ideas. Now we’ve reached the real focus of the conference. We need to do something about it.”</p>
<p>Gentile expects that the academy will expand its prevention efforts in the future. </p>
<p>“In society, prevention has traditionally taken a backseat to response,” she said. </p>
<p>Gentile believes the academy is on the cutting edge of being able to respond with its training program for SAVI guides and advocates. Now, with the Midshipmen, cadets, faculty and staff applying what they’ve learned during the conference, Gentile believes that the academy could also be on the cutting edge of prevention. </p>
<p>Cmdr. Anne Hammond, the Naval Academy’s sexual assault response coordinator and program manager for sexual harassment, misconduct, and assault prevention and response, views the program as a work in progress.</p>
<p>“We’re continuing to refine and develop the program,” Hammond said. </p>
<p>Hammond agreed with Gentile that the first priority has to be taking care of victims, but that now that people are trained in response, the next step is to provide training to prevent sexual assaults.</p>
<p>“The focus is changing,” Hammond said. “This conference should put us on the leading edge of the best ways to further our efforts in prevention. It’s a leap of faith, to talk prevention and to share our successes and failures.”</p>
<p>Hammond continued, saying that the conference has given them a broader spectrum of education resources.</p>
<p>"It’s been a working conference where we’ve talked about our programs. We’ve tried lots of things and now we have a good idea of some efforts that have been successful and some that haven’t been. </p>
<p>Our recent chance to network will allow us to continue to share ideas and move forward as a collective group," Hammond said. </p>
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