HEIDELBERG, Germany, April 23 (UPI) -- The U.S. Army has announced plans to train nearly 250 rape victim advocates in Europe, Stars and Stripes reported Saturday.
The eight-hour training, scheduled for next week in Heidelberg, Germany, comes in response to mandates to improve how the U.S. Army treats victims and deals with sexual assault. Every battalion-size or larger unit has selected two soldiers to attend the training, which will teach them to help sexual assault victims with medical, legal and other concerns after an attack.
"The whole intent is to help re-empower them after a sexual assault so that they can make choices to go from there," said Mildred Skidmore, Family Advocacy Program manager for the Installation Management Agency in Europe.
The advocacy training is a key component in the U.S. Army's plans to repair what has repeatedly been called a dysfunctional system that blames victims instead of helping them and does not hold perpetrators accountable for criminal acts.
