The Sexual Assault Pre-vention and Response (SAPR) program hosted its annual advocate appreciation luncheon April 27 at the Officers’ Club.

The event recognized SAPR volunteer advocates and featured a very special guest speaker, retired Chief Information Systems Technician Becky Luschei.

Luschei was sexually assaulted Jan. 13, 1984, while at her first duty station in Mayport, Florida. She was gang raped by three men who have never been found or charged. Although she knew none of her assailants were in the Navy, she reported the assault to her chain of command and sought medical treatment.

The process, she says, was cold. “I went through the steps alone - the physical exam, photo-taking, morning after pill, police report, viewing mug shots. I was being drug around from one place to the next, forced to re-visit the crime scene, talk about what happened. It was all very impersonal. The after-effects and the way I was dealt with were almost worst than the gang rape.”

Luschei had little support from her fellow Sailors. Although her commanding officer was sympathetic and concerned, other members of her command got angry because of the attention he gave her. Luschei talked to very few people about her experience, and never sought long-term mental care.

“There was no handling of the emotional aspects,” she says. “I had separated my psychological self from my physical self. I had anger issues.”

The emotional effects of her rape combined with several other issues in her life, including broken relationships with her daughter and a boyfriend, eventually led Luschei to try to take her own life several years after her rape. She survived the suicide attempt, but never broke free from her emotional pain or the scars it left.

She retired after 22 years of service, with 30 percent of her disability pay resulting from post-traumatic stress disorder caused by the rape and its immediate after-effects.

Becky was assaulted, and eventually retired from the Navy, all before the Department of Defense established a formal program and set of procedures to manage sexual assault and assist its victims. She, and countless other survivors, are the people the SAPR program was designed to assist.

Reflecting on her experience, she says “if a program like this one [SAPR] had been in place at the time, I would not have suffered as long and the symptoms would have been more minimal. Victims need command support, and this program brings it to them. In the move from victim to survivor, it’s essential that the commands be steadfast supporters,” [both of victims and the SAPR program].

“Advocates are the backbone of this program. They’ve got a big job and have to have a lot of understanding. It’s important to have that one person in your corner, being there just for you. I hope that by sharing my story with these advocates, they will develop one more piece of perspective, better empathy. If I can make it easier for one victim, I’ve done a lot.”

SAPR advocates agree. AT3 Robert Majestic of VQ-2 stepped up to volunteer for the role because “I just want to do something important, that really makes a difference and helps someone.”

AT2 Kristopher Burris from Fleet Readiness Center Northwest provides regular training to his command regarding the services available from the SAPR program. “I want people to feel confident that if [the victim] were their brother, sister, son or daughter, that they would have someone to go to. If they have to go through the after-effects, they shouldn’t have to do it alone.”

An additional component of this year’s luncheon and sexual assault awareness month was a video contest. Commands were asked to visually define consent. Fleet Readiness Center Northwest won with their entry depicting a Sailor step in to stop a shipmate from drunkenly going home with an acquaintance who appeared to have bad intentions.

They developed an original score and script, as well as directed and acted in the video. Bravo Zulu to the Sailors involved for their hard work: AS1 Adjoavi Abaya, AT1 Chester Oatley, AT1 Jason Febuary, LS1 Nicola Brown, AT2 Kristopher Burris, AD2 Tenika Scott, LS2 Pamela Velez, AZ2 Amanda Boyles, ATAN Bradon Scholer and AT3 Marcel Orun.

Victims of sexual assault are encouraged to utilize the 24/7 services of the SAPR program. Phone numbers to confidentially report an assault are: (primary) (360) 914-7867, (secondary) (360) 914-7855, (Sexual Assault Response Coordinator [SARC]) Cell: 360-914-7834 and the SARC Office at (360) 257-8893.

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