TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Naval Academy Launches Harassment Program

ADVERTISEMENT

By BRIAN WITTE, The Associated Press

Published: November 18, 2007

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Midshipmen Joy Dewey and Joshua Foxton hope to hear familiar epithets when they ask a group of new students at the U.S. Naval Academy to describe promiscuous men and women.

When the plebes respond with "stud," "tramp" and a few graphic offerings, Dewey and Foxton sense that they've attained a comfort level with the group and can springboard into a frank discussion of how language can be used to intimidate and sexually objectify people.

The two midshipmen are pioneers in a new peer-training program at the Naval Academy to prevent sexual harassment, a high-profile problem at the school.

Dewey, who coordinates the group of 32 trainers, said she thinks midshipmen are more receptive to the message when it's delivered by their peers.

The program was designed to span a midshipman's four years at the academy and create a more structured approach to raising awareness about sexual misconduct.

It began with the incoming class of 2011, which will receive a total of 25 hours of training by the time it leaves the academy.

The three older classes are studying sexual harassment prevention, but they are not getting the peer-training sessions. Cmdr. Ricks Polk, the academy's sexual assault response coordinator, said school officials thought the program would be too difficult to implement immediately to the entire 4,300-member student body.

The program is not without its critics.

Twenty-five hours of training for someone who graduates as a Naval officer is "woefully inadequate," said Anita Sanchez, a spokeswoman for the victim advocacy group Miles Foundation, which focuses on sexual assault in the military. She suggests a minimum of 60 hours per year.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT