News Search

News

"Sex Signals" educates Team Kadena

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Angelique Perez
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  "Sex Signals" presenters spent the day giving Team Kadena's younger enlisted personnel a different, more interactive kind of sexual assault prevention education training than they are used to, June 22. 

The performances are a humorous, yet realistic, combination of scripted acting and improvisation meant to give a fresh, unique look at dating and sexual relationships. 

Sexual Assault Response Coordinator Officer, Capt. McKay Balog, said, "It's basically an educational show about sex and dating and ultimately acquaintance rape and is geared toward the younger age groups, mostly 18-24 year olds. That's kind of our target audience group at the SARC as well." 

The show, which originally began on college campuses in the U.S., has branched out to military installations to educate service members about social and sexual relationships and address the issue of sexual assault. 

"It's important because it's another way to reinforce our message," Capt. Balog said. "They act it out so it's a nice way for them to be able to kind of see 'in action' the kind of stuff that I teach them during actual SARC training." 

It's a show that can get through to people on the level where they are already talking about things versus a more formal power point presentation, she added. 

Courtney Abbott, a presenter, said, "It's an interactive approach to sexual assault prevention education. So using comedy to loosen up the atmosphere, we try to get the audience to talk with us honestly about where they're coming from when it comes to dating and sex and stereotypes and the opinions that they have." 

"Sex Signals" brought up issues with gender stereotypes, dating, and redefined the stereotypical idea of rape. Statistics given by the presenters showed that, 80 percent of the time, rape victims know their attacker. 

Alcohol is also frequently a major factor, in about 90 percent of cases either one or both people have been drinking, they said. 

Kyle Terry, one of the presenters, said, "I think they enjoy the fact that they can talk to us about some of the concerns that they have with the issue of sexual assault, specifically acquaintance rape, that they don't quite agree with in terms of what they're told through explanations of policy, which differ a lot from their experiences socializing with each other. They seem to really like the show, we're constantly told that we're better than power-point, which is, I guess, saying a lot." 

The team hopes to help people create a higher moral standard that holds perpetrators accountable for their actions as well as diminish sexual assault cases through education. 

"I really enjoyed the training," said Senior Airman Gina Rosales, a Dental Lab Technician in the 18th Dental Squadron, "It was fun and entertaining to watch this year. I liked the audience participation, it made it very interesting and not to mention hilarious to hear other people's cheesy pick up lines."

The production consists of several teams that tour college campuses and military bases all over the world. This team is currently on a tour through the Pacific, presenting to Airmen, Sailors, and Marines in mainland Japan, Okinawa, Guam and Korea.

The show was held at the Kadena Base Theater and sponsored by the 18th Wing Sexual Assault Response Coordinator's office.