The Health and Human Services Club at the American Samoa Community College (ASCC) sponsored a Sexual Assault Awareness Forum on Thursday, April 27. As with previous forums on the subject, the event featured guest speakers from the community who work in the area of raising public awareness of both the prevalence of sexual assault in our community as well as the services available to victims.

And with the many public awareness programs and services in the community, the inevitable question was asked from the audience during the Forum: “How effective are all of these programs in preventing sexual assault in our community?”

Responding to the question, Judy Mata’utia from the American Samoa Alliance Against Domestic and Sexual Violence said that turning the tide in the incidents of sexual violence is up to the community.

“There can never be too much awareness,” she said. “Agencies like Alliance alone cannot put a stop to sexual assault, but individuals and the community can.”

Of interest, during the forum was guest presenter, Ioane Vaimaona, a Certified Self-Defense Marshall Arts Instructor. “A sexual assault is like a tsunami,” Vaimaona told his forum audience, “You can hope it never happens, but if it does, you should know what to do.” 

Vaimaona shared information on the self-defense classes he offers for women through his organization Sexual Assault Defense (S.A.D.) of American Samoa.

A martial arts student since age 14, Vaimaona has studied Brazilian Jujitsu and has previously worked with a successful self-defense program in Los Angeles, the Gracie Academy, which teaches martial arts techniques women can use to “neutralize” an attacker.

He shared videos of these techniques being applied, and explained that anyone interested in learning them can contact him through the Alliance.

Forum speakers included Mata’utia and Mona Uli from the ASAADSV; Dr. Peni Biukoto, Psychiatrist with the Behavioral Health Clinic, a division of the Department of Health; and Vaimaona, a Certified Self-Defense Marshall Arts Instructor.

Mata’utia described the efforts of the Alliance Against Domestic and Sexual Violence to raise awareness of sexual assault in American Samoa through workshops and training in the community.

“Many people in the Territory still believe that sexual assault does not exist in American Samoa,” she reflected, “or else they simply don’t acknowledge it because of a culture of silence. The Alliance tries to bring this problem to the attention of the public, as well as inform them of the help available for victims.”

While not a service provider itself, the Alliance tries to create a “safe space” for victims while supporting the actual service providers such as LBJ Hospital and the Health Department. “Soon many of you will be husbands, wives and parents,” Mata’utia said to the student audience, “so it’s important for you to know that this problem exists in our community.”

Continuing with the theme of raising awareness, Mona Uli reiterated how the Alliance serves as a resource for the community, and then she screened a short video emphasizing the importance of individual intervention in situations where a sexual assault appears even remotely possible.

The video showed a party with young adults, both male and female, becoming steadily more intoxicated. Two scenarios are then presented:

In the first, a male guides an inebriated female through the crowd towards a bedroom “so she can rest,” and no one appears to even take much notice. Once the male shuts the bedroom door, there is a clear implication that an assault will take place.

In the second scenario, friends who know the female continually intervene on her behalf. Before the male is even halfway across the room, the girl’s friends have stopped her from consuming further alcohol and have even called a cab to take her home safely.

The point being that when friends look after each other, a perpetrator has a harder time making one of them a victim.

Dr. Biukoto during his forum presentation gave a thorough overview of the risk factors that can result in forms of violence, including sexual violence, and the psychological, emotional and physical effects violence can have on victims.

Following the formal conclusion of the event, the guests took time to speak with students one-on-one, and received small tokens of appreciation from Health & Human Services Club members, their president Alice Tausaga, and club advisor/Human Services instructor Derek Helsham.