Alcohol common tool for sexual offenders Published May 22, 2008 By Lisa Pinter 1st SOW Public Affairs HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- Sexual assault remains a serious concern in the military. In response to that concern, the Department of Defense implemented the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response program in 2005. The program manager for each base, the sexual assault response coordinator, focuses on the awareness and response to an assault. It also focuses on preventing any type of sexual assault and responding to it as soon as possible. The SARC offers assistance for those who have been sexually assaulted and provides information to help people avoid dangerous situations. A large part of the program's mission is to educate individuals on the effects of alcohol and to help victims continue with their lives after a sexual assault. The response portion of the program is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with trained victim advocates ready to offer help and information. The following facts are provided to raise the awareness about sexual assault and how it increases when alcohol is involved: - Military law recognizes that when an individual passes out, he or she is unable to give proper consent. If someone has sex with an individual without consent, it is considered a sexual assault - Alcohol can never be used as a defense or cover up for someone who commits sexual violence - If a person is sexually assaulted, it is never that person's fault, even if they were intoxicated at the time of the assault - Alcohol slows the reflexes and can impair a person's ability to recognize potentially dangerous situations - Men and women are at high risk of sexual assault with the consumption of alcohol since there is a decrease in ability to recognize surroundings and make smart decisions. - Alcohol is known to impair judgment and lower inhibition, making some people more likely to commit sexual assault. - Men are more likely to believe that if a woman drinks alcoholic beverages on a date that she is willing to have sex. Forty percent of men who think this way also believe it is acceptable to force sex on an intoxicated woman - Almost 80 percent of sexual assaults occur at a social gathering or on a date - Research has proven that at least half of sexual assaults involve alcohol consumption of the victim, the perpetrator or both - Alcohol is the substance of choice in drug-facilitated rapes For more information, contact Clara Miller, Hurlburt Field's sexual assault response coordinator at 884-7272 or 499-7425.