On a college campus where men outnumber women five to one, female midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy sometimes endure sexual abuse to feel accepted, said one student.
“Sometimes they don?t want to be the one woman who stands up and starts objecting to this behavior,” said senior Laura Schneider, 20.
The academy wants to erase that mentality with its new sexual harassment prevention program, which provides five hours of instruction per year per class, unlike the previous effort, which consisted of a one-hour slide presentation, said Cmdr. Ricks Polk, director of the new program.
Named SHAPE ? Sexual Harassment, Assault Prevention and Education ? the program gives midshipmen a different lesson each year. Freshmen are introduced to broader issues such as sexual assault and survivor recovery. Sophomores focus on date rape and gender issues such as machismo. Upperclassmen learn legal issues and the trauma of rape.
The academy used consultants to help prepare the curriculum, including John Foubert, founder of the National Organization of Men?s Outreach for Rape Education; Gail Stern, a sexual prevention and education director at the University of Illinois; and Christopher Kilmartin, an author on sexual assault education.
The program comes on the heels of highly publicized sexual scandals at the academy, and at a time when the academy is pushing for more female enrollment.
The program, which started this semester, focuses only on the fourth class, or freshmen. Though all midshipmen are receiving parts of the program, the entire curriculum will reach all midshipmen in three years, Polk said.
The midshipmen are counseled by upperclassmen, also referred to as peer mediators, who are trained by the academy. In addition to the new curriculum, trained midshipmen act as liaisons and advocates for sexually assaulted or harassed midshipmen.
The new program is more effective because it focuses on interaction among midshipmen and leadership training, Polk said.
“We?re getting positive responses back, midshipmen saying they want to help in the effort and how they can get involved,” said senior Joy Dewey, 20, the top student coordinator of the program.
