This annual event highlights the efforts the DoD and individual military services are making to combat sexual assault and promotes prevention through special activities and public education.

The 2010 SAAM theme, ‘‘Hurts One. Affects All ... Preventing Sexual Assault is Everyone’s Duty,” focuses on the effects of sexual assault on the military’s mission readiness, recognizing that sexual assault against a shipmate harms not only the victim but also the ability of a military unit to work effectively as a team.

‘‘When a sexual assault occurs, it affects the command climate,” said Liz Russo, sexual assault response coordinator for Naval Support Activity Annapolis and Fort Meade. ‘‘If you have two people on legal hold that have to be separated while the assault is investigated, that has a significant impact on your ability to do your mission.

‘‘Also, when someone’s sexually assaulted, there’s a huge impact on them. There are victims I’ve worked with who were assaulted over a year ago and they’re still in counseling and they’re still not back to 100 percent in terms of doing the full scope of their mission.”

In recent years, DoD focus has shifted to prevention of sexual assault instead of simply knowing how to respond to an assault once it has occurred. According to Russo, past prevention efforts were geared toward women and how to make themselves less vulnerable.

‘‘We would get women together in a room and say ‘If you don’t want to be sexually assaulted, make sure you go out with people you know, make sure nobody puts anything in your drink,’” said Russo.

But Russo points out that if an individual is drinking a lot, it doesn’t matter if someone puts anything in their drink because the alcohol is already incapacitating them. Also, most sexual assaults occur with people you know, not strangers.

‘‘The focus for the Navy right now is on engaging bystanders to step up and do something when they see something that’s concerning,” said Russo. ‘‘The idea is to try to engage everyone in this issue, regardless of whether you’re male or female.”

Since 2004, with the establishment of the Joint Task Force for Sexual Assault Prevention and Response, the DoD and military services have developed new policies to encourage sexual assault prevention. The goal of this new approach is to establish a climate of confidence throughout the military in which sexual assault and the attitudes that promote it are not tolerated, victims of sexual assault receive the care and support that they need, and offenders are held accountable for their actions.

For more information on the DoD’s sexual assault prevention program, go to www.sapr.mil.