Left of Bang: Sex and Relationship Education as Violence Prevention

Duration
60 Minutes

Originally Aired
April 13, 2023

In 2022, Catharsis Productions began working with the 19^th Expeditionary Sustainment Command (19^th ESC), 8^th Army, South Korea, to supplement their Ambassador Program. This program augments the standard SHARP training, empowering all new Soldiers in the 19^th ESC with bystander intervention skills and a comprehensive knowledge of sexual assault and harassment. In May 2022, we began creating and piloting training delivered to junior and mid-level enlisted Soldiers, with content delivered virtually by two Stateside trainers and co-facilitated live in the classroom by 19^th ESC SHARP staff. The goal is to get to the “Left of Bang,” a Marine Corps term that refers to an attack timeline. The “bang” is the moment of an attack—in our case, sexual violence or harassment. What comes before the attack – to the left on the timeline – is training and prevention.

Part of the inspiration for the curriculum is derived from the 19^th ESC’s unique take on the Continuum of Harm. In their iteration, there are only “green” or “healthy” behaviors, and “red” or “unhealthy” behaviors—there is no yellow section. Our curriculum offers a deep dive into issues related to gender identity and bias, sexual scripts and the impact of pornography, and healthy and unhealthy relationships, showing how our unexamined tolerance of harmful behaviors can disable us from taking action early in the Continuum of Harm.

This session will share the curriculum design process, lessons learned, and outcome data on engaging participants in conversation about deeply held beliefs and vulnerable experiences utilizing a quasi-virtual delivery mechanism.

Objectives

As a result of this webinar, participants will be better able to: