The Army is opening new centers that will centralize the service’s resources for victims of sexual assault and harassment, as Federal News Network reported. Victims will have access to the Fusion Directorate program outside their chain of command.
“It is intended to increase accountability, transparency and efficiency by coordinating all victim response elements, including victim advocates, medical care providers, law enforcement investigators and criminal prosecutors under a single directorate,” said Col. Kelly Webster, deputy director of the Army Resilience Directorate.
The Army will pilot the program through spring 2022 at six bases: Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Fort Irwin, California, Fort Riley, Kansas and Fort Sill, Oklahoma. The pilot sites were selected to represent a broad range of types and sizes of installations, the Army said.
Army photo by Sgt. Sarah D. Sangster