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Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month: SAPR team educates Robins with April events

  • Published
  • By Holly Logan-Arrington
  • Robins Public Affairs

The Robins Air Force Base Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office is shedding light on an often taboo subject.

April is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Robins is continuing to focus on its 2019 and 2020 theme, ‘Protecting Our People Protects Our Mission’, this year.

The awareness campaign kicked off April 1 with a virtually held proclamation signing ceremony including commanders from the 78th Air Base Wing, 116th Air Control Wing, and 461st Air Control Wing. The event, which can be viewed on the official Robins Facebook page, also included volunteer victim advocates who shared messages about why they advocate.

Candace Franks, a victim advocate in the SAPR Office, said VVAs will greet drivers on various dates throughout April at the Russell Parkway, Green Street and the Watson Boulevard gates with giveaways to keep sexual assault awareness and prevention at the forefront of people’s minds.  

“One of the goals of SAAM is to raise awareness,” she said. “SAPR volunteer victim advocates play a huge role in this, and we could not do this without their dedication. The VVAs will be posted at the gates distributing what we call SAPR swag. We will distribute pens, lanyards, stress balls, hand sanitizers and more at the gates.”

Franks said each item is marked with the SAPR Office’s information, including the SAPR 24/7 hotline at 478-327-7272.

Additionally, Franks said the SAPR Office will host information booths at various base locations each Thursday in April, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. On April 15 and 29, a SAPR information booth will be available at the Base Exchange. Information booths will be on site at the Base Restaurant on April 8 and at the Heritage Club on April 22.

The information booths will include a twist on educating the Robins community about sexual assault awareness, Franks said.

“The Spin the Wheel will be located at the information booths and facilitated by our VVAs,” she said. “The participant will spin the wheel, land on a topic, and be tested on their knowledge of the SAPR program. If they answer the question right, they will win a prize. If they miss it, our VVAs will help them gain understanding. This is a learning activity that is not only rewarding, but time efficient.”

In order to reach the younger Airmen in the base community, the SAPR Office will host a SAPR Escape Room at the dorms.

“Robins SAPR Escape Rooms are live-action, team-based events where groups of players collectively discover clues, solve puzzles, and accomplish tasks in one or more enclosed rooms, while attempting to ‘escape’ from the room,” Franks said. “Escape Rooms require teamwork, communication, delegation, creativity, critical thinking and attention to detail. The most successful teams are those made up of players with a variety of experiences, skills and background knowledge, as well as physical and mental toughness. Airmen and civilians are able to learn the SAPR talking points in a unique way and receive credit for training.”

Franks said the SAPR Office hosts escape rooms within units or at the SAPR Office in Building 707 by appointment.

“Increasing communication and bridging the gap between coworkers who might not usually interact is a great way to increase morale,” she said.

Also, the SAPR Office will host a free yoga class at H.O.P.E. Gardens on April 16 at 3:30 p.m.

H.O.P.E. stands for Help is available; Opportunities exist; People care; Expect something good to happen – is a Robins-driven campaign that highlights different resiliency tools and lanes of advocacy for Team Robins personnel and families.

Franks said the theme of the yoga class will be ‘Mindfulness.’

“Yoga is one of the many ways our community can develop resiliency skills,” Franks said. “This class is open to everyone at Robins AFB.”

The awareness month will also include the Courage, Leadership, Education, Advocacy and Respect Challenge on April 30 at 7:30 a.m. at Robins Park.

“C.L.E.A.R. is designed to inform participants of the effects interpersonal violence have on members, and how to support them on their way to recovery,” Franks said. “The challenge includes six obstacles. It begins on the Robins 5K trail and ends at Robins Park. Anyone can participate in the C.L.E.A.R. Challenge by showing up at Robins Park. There is no registration required.”

To close out the month, the SAPR Office will host the Robins Race.

The Robins Race, modeled after a similarly named hit game show, is an adventure in which teams of two to four people race around Warner Robins and Robins Air Force Base in competition with other teams.

“Teams will be tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves to different helping agencies in the surrounding areas, interact with local organizations, and perform physical and mental challenges,” Franks said.

The event will take place April 30 at 7:30 a.m. beginning at Robins Park.

Robins Race teams must be registered by April 15. For more information or to sign up, contact Candace Franks at 478-796-1812 or via e-mail at or candace.franks.1@us.af.mil.

For more information on Sexual Assault Awareness Month events at Robins, follow the Robins Air Force Base Integrated Resilience and Prevention Page on Facebook.