ALCOAST 369/20 - SEP 2020 SEXUAL ASSAULT PREVENTION, RESPONSE AND RECOVERY (SAPRR) UPDATE NUMBER TWO

united states coast guard

R 291430 SEP 20
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC//DCMS//
TO ALCOAST
UNCLAS //N01754//
ALCOAST 369/20
COMDTNOTE 1754
SUBJ:  SEXUAL ASSAULT PREVENTION, RESPONSE AND RECOVERY (SAPRR) UPDATE NUMBER TWO
A. Sexual Assault Prevention, Response, and Recovery Strategic Plan 2018-2022
B. COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC 311130 JUL 20/ALCOAST 292/20
C. COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC 080802 JAN 20/ALCOAST 003/20
D. Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) Program, COMDTINST M1754.10 (series)
E. COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC 170908 JUN 20/ALCOAST 238/20
F. Discipline and Conduct, COMDTINST M1600.2 (series)
1. Per REF (A), the Commandant’s SAPRR vision is a Coast Guard where all members
of our mission ready total workforce - Active Duty, Reserve, Civilian and Auxiliary
live and work in a climate of trust, respect, and dignity; where all members are
leaders who take prompt action to correct any behavior counter to this climate;
and who do not stand by and allow it to occur. Your senior leadership team urges
all members to take a stand against behaviors on the “Continuum of Harm” that
includes both sexual harassment and sexual assault and declare “Not on our Watch.”
2. To demonstrate the ongoing commitment to achieving the Commandant’s vision,
the USCG SAPRR program and the USCG-wide SAPRR Committee provide the following
update on policy, program, and resource changes made since we published update
one in January 2020:
    a. We have added twelve Victim Advocates Program Specialist (VAPS) positions
to our workforce. The VAPS will work with the regional Sexual Assault Response
Coordinators (SARCs) to provide direct support to field units and victims of
sexual assault. The positions will be filled in early FY21.
    b. At the end of July we released REF (B), “Confiding in Another Person."
This significant policy change allows sexual assault victims to confide in a
friend or family member without voiding their choice of filing a Restricted
Report. The SAPRR program, FORCECOM, CG Investigative Service, Public Affairs
staffs, and others are working to update training curricula, investigation
data capture forms, surveys, webpages, and other documents, to ensure a
comprehensive policy-change roll-out. “Frequently Asked Questions” about the
“Confiding in Another Person” policy are posted on the COMDT (CG-11) SAPRR
and DCMS SAPRR Portal pages, noted in paragraphs 2.d. and 4 below. You may also
contact your servicing SARC or VA regarding policy questions. By adopting
“Confiding in Another Person,” we can support persons victimized by sexual
assault and eliminate barriers to reporting.
    c. As stated in REF (C), the prosecution of sexual assault – a felony offense
– takes priority over any discipline for minor collateral misconduct. The USCG
SAPRR Committee measured the collateral misconduct prosecution rate and affirmed
that only two percent of all collateral misconduct charges are acted upon. The
bottom line is that members should not let collateral misconduct prevent the
timely and proper reporting of a sexual assault. Please review REF (B) and perhaps
confide in a friend, or speak with a Chaplain if you are unsure of reporting a
sexual assault. The feedback and advice they provide may help alleviate worry
in the decision to file a Restricted or Unrestricted Report. If you have ever
been victimized and desire sexual assault assistance of any kind, you are
encouraged to reach out to your unit VA, your SARC, or CGSUPRT at:
https://cg.portal.uscg.mil/units/hswlsc/work-life_division/Shared%20Documents/
CGSUPRT%20Resources/Promotional%20Materials/CG%20SUPRT%20Overview%20General.pdf.
Our SARCs, VAs, and Health, Safety and Work-Life personnel are ready to support
you, virtually, or in person, even during these challenging COVID-19 times.
Additionally, the DOD Safe Helpline at https://www.safehelpline.org/nearme
or the Safe HelpLine App for IOS and Android is available for 24/7 anonymous,
confidential support.
    d. The USCG's commitment to victim recovery is as resolute as the USCG's
commitment to preventing Sexual Assault and eliminating it from our Service. The
USCG SAPRR program is updating REF (D) to include Recovery-focused policies
and a Recovery Care Plan. The program recently contracted for Certified Clinical
Trauma Professional training for all SARCs to develop a comprehensive victim
recovery system and certify SARCs to train VAs and unit leaders, further
expanding the circle of recovery-oriented personnel. These are crucial steps
toward our strategic goal of ensuring each victim the best probability of
becoming a survivor and achieving favorable long-term physical, mental and
spiritual health outcomes. More information about this training initiative
will be posted on the SAPRR program website at: https://www.dcms.uscg.mil/
Our-Organization/Assistant-Commandant-for-Human-Resources-CG-1/
Health-Safety-and-Work-Life-CG-11/Office-of-Work-Life-CG-111/
Sexual-Assault-Prevention-and-Response-Program/.
    e. We continue to cultivate our relationship with the DOD Sexual Assault
Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO). SAPRO recently launched “Innovations
in Sexual Assault Prevention Pilot Program” (ISAPPP) to measure the impact of
sexual assault prevention activities and selected two CG projects for ISAPPP
inclusion. These two projects, “The Area Commander’s Toolkit,” which launched
with the joint Area Commander’s Culture of Respect Video,
(https://www.dvidshub.net/video/735480/respect-yourself-and-respect-each-other)
and also TRACEN Petaluma’s Recognize, Evaluate, Assess responsibility, Confirm
appropriate action, and Take action (R.E.A.C.T) interactive training program
will receive SAPRO’s contract support to develop a prevention evaluation plan
including strategy, metrics and measurement tactics. We look forward to the
kick-off of these ISAPPP projects in FY21. 
3. The Catch a Serial Offender (CATCH) initiative has made an immediate impact
for USCG victims. As reported in REF (C), the CATCH program offers sexual assault
victims who make a Restricted Report an opportunity to anonymously disclose suspect
information. In the past six months, seven USCG sexual assault victims made CATCH
entries and five matches were identified within the Department of Defense (DOD)
sexual assault database. As a result, victims who originally made Restricted
Reports voluntarily converted to Unrestricted Reports. CGIS now has multiple
victim reports to use to conduct criminal investigations. The USCG has the most
CATCH matches of the five armed services. Our courageous USCG members who used
this tool, and felt empowered to convert their reports to Unrestricted are
contributing in holding offenders accountable. USCG participants in the CATCH
program are loudly proclaiming, “Not on our Watch.” For more information on CATCH,
go to: https://www.sapr.mil/catch, or
https://cg.portal.uscg.mil/units/dcms/saprr/SitePages/Home.aspx then click “CATCH”
under the heading, “Useful Links.”
4. The SAPRR Committee had developed an Action Plan to foucs efforts through FY22.
This Action Plan is available to view on the newly created DCMS SAPRR Portal Page at:
https://cg.portal.uscg.mil/units/dcms/saprr/SitePages/Home.aspx. The three Committee
focus areas – Data Sources and Findings (DSF), Leadership and Positive Culture (L&PC),
and Accountability and Transparency (AT) - include distinct goals but will yield results
that are cross-cutting and have the same objective, ending sexual assault in the CG.
5. Together we must ensure that every member of our Service takes personal
ownership of our Core Value of Respect. Respect does not tolerate sexual assault.
Respect does not tolerate sexual harassment. Respect does not tolerate the behaviors
that lead to sexual harassment and assault. Together, we will end sexual assault in
our CG, “On OUR Watch.”
6. Point of Contact: For questions pertaining to this update or the Coast Guard's SAPRR
Program contact CAPT Stephanie Morrison at (202) 372-1599 or at Stephanie.A.Morrison@uscg.mil
7. VADM M. McAllister, Deputy Commandant for Mission Support, sends.
8. Internet release is authorized.