Sexual Harassment / Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP)

REPORTING ASSUALT

Restricted Reporting

Restricted Reporting allows an Active Duty Soldier who is a sexual assault victim, on a confidential basis, to disclose the details of his/her assault to specifically identified individuals and receive medical treatment and counseling, without triggering the official investigative process or command notification.

Soldiers who are sexually assaulted and desire restricted reporting under this policy must report the assault to the Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC), Victim Advocate, Chaplain or a Healthcare Provider.

Unrestricted Reporting

Unrestricted Reporting allows a Soldier who is sexually assaulted and desires medical treatment, counseling, and an official investigation of his/her allegation to use current reporting channels (e.g., chain of command, law enforcement, or he/she may report the incident to the SARC or the Victim Advocate).

Upon notification of a reported sexual assault, the SARC will immediately notify a Victim Advocate. Additionally, with the victim's consent, the healthcare provider shall conduct a forensic examination, which may include the collection of evidence. Details regarding the incident will be limited to only those personnel who have a legitimate need to know.

What is sexual Harassment?

Conduct that involves unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and deliberate or repeated offensive comments or gestures of a sexual nature.

1. Verbal: Examples of verbal sexual harassment may include telling sexual jokes; using sexually explicit profanity, threats, sexually oriented cadences or sexual comments; whistling in a sexually suggestive manner; and describing certain attributes of one's physical appearance in a sexual manner. Verbal sexual harassment may also include using terms of endearment such as "honey," "babe," "sweetheart," "dear," "stud" or "hunk" in referring to Soldiers, DA civilian coworkers or family members. 
2. Nonverbal: Examples of nonverbal sexual harassment may include: cornering or blocking a passageway, inappropriately or excessively staring at someone; blowing kisses;  winking or licking one's lips in a suggestive manner. Nonverbal sexual harassment also includes offensive printed material (for example displaying sexually oriented pictures or cartoons); using electronic communications to send sexually-oriented faxes, notes or letters.
3. Physical Contact: Examples of physical sexual harassment may inclcude: touching, patting, pinching, bumping, grabbing, kissing; or providing unsolicited back or neck rubs There is signifiant overlap between physical contact which constitutes sexual assault and physical contact which constitutes suxual harassment.

REPORTING SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Anonymous complaints

An anonymous complaint is defined as a report of sexual harassment, regardless of the means of transmission, from an unknown or unidentified source. The individual reporting the information is not required to divulge any personally identifiable information.

Informal complaint

An informal sexual harassment complaint is a complaint that an individual does not wish to file in writing on a DA Form 7746. Typically, those issues that can be taken care of informally can be resolved through discussion, problem identification and clarification of the issues.

Formal complaints

Notify the SARC at the brigade or division level and the complaint will be processed through the chain of command using DA form 7746.