Army base testing sexual assault responses with ‘escape room’ theme

Fort Bragg, N.C., will use an “escape room” setup to test soldiers’ knowledge of sexual harassment and assault prevention procedures, according to the Army Times.

The 16th Military Police Brigade will participate in the event next week as part of Sexual Awareness Month activities, the Times reported.

The event will take place in a room full of posters and educational materials relating to the Army Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) program, spokeswoman Sgt. 1st Class Ashley Savage told the publication.

{mosads}One participant will be tied to a chair with chains and locks, which teammates must answer questions related to the SHARP program to unlock, according to Savage. Questions could include the phone number to report an assault or questions about the details of restricted and unrestricted reporting, according to the publication.

“The description is meant to be a play on words,” Savage told the Army Times. “The role player represents a sexual assault victim and the chains represent obstacles the victim may face. The idea is that a victim doesn’t have to be alone while going through the process.”

Savage told the publication that while she was not aware of any other escape room-themed training exercises in other units, the escape room format had “become a very popular way to build team cohesion.”

Reports of sexual assaults at Fort Bragg spiked by almost two thirds between 2013 and 2016, according to data released by the Defense Department in March. Meanwhile, surveys collected by the Rand Corp. estimated 476 assaults involving men and another 361 involving women at Fort Bragg, second only to Fort Hood, Texas, for overall number of assaults, according to WRAL.