JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
Team Charleston graduated five Airmen from the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) Volunteer Victim Advocate (VVA) course Jan. 14 during a ceremony on base.
This is the first 40-hour standardized VVA course Joint Base Charleston has offered since the inception of COVID-19.
“Volunteer victim advocates are the backbone to the SAPR program,” said Tenia Bentley, SAPR Program Manager. “They provide 24/7 emergency response, non-clinical crisis intervention, referrals and on-going non-clinical support to adult victims of sexual assault.”
VVA’s aid the SAPR office by providing in-person response in addition to answering calls on the JB Charleston 24/7 Sexual Assault Support Line, (843) 963-7272.
“I have the upmost respect for volunteer victim advocates and what they do”, said Col. Marc Greene, 628th Air Base Wing and Joint Base Charleston commander. “The program we run at Joint Base Charleston and everyone involved is incredible.”
Aside from being the first course since the start of the pandemic, this graduation is unique because JBC is the first Department of Defense installation to implement virtual reality (VR) into their VVA curriculum. The course instructors used two SAPR VR modules and one Suicide Prevention VR module to enhance the class for Airmen.
“Including VR into the course allows trainees to have hands on experience through immersive technology,” said Bentley. “This allows VVAs to be better equipped to offer support to sexual assault survivors.”
Greene concluded the ceremony by thanking the new VVAs for their dedication to the JBC community and SAPR mission.
For more information on SAPR or becoming a volunteer victim advocate, please email 628abw.sarc.org@us.af.mil.