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Fort Knox Human Resources Command recognizing Sexual Assault Awareness Month with motorcyle ride

U.S Army

A motorcycle ride designed to raise awareness for victims of sexual assault is returning after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Fort Knox Human Resources Command (HRC) will host the Raise the Bars Motorcycle Ride Wednesday. Riders will depart the post at 1 p.m. and end the route at Silverleaf Sexual Trauma Recovery Services in Elizabethtown.

The HRC anticipates more than 60 riders to take part in the event. Command Victims’ Advocate James Frye says participants are expected to come from throughout the region.

“It’s open to everyone, so we’re looking forward to a lot of people coming out to support. I can tell you that we have riders coming from as far as Tennessee,” Frye said.

The ride is open to Fort Knox soldiers, family members, civilian staff, and the public. It’s part of a month-long effort to observe Sexualt Assault and Awareness Month that involved multiple events. Charles Lay coordinates the HRC’s Sexual Harassment and Assault Response and Prevention program. He said the programming is meant to engage groups of people typically left behind in the conversation surrounding sexual violence.

“One of the populations that we are really focused on doing outreach and improving services for is male victims of sexual violence,” Lay said. “They are so underrepresented and underreported when it comes to sexual assaults.”

The events at Fort Knox are part of an overall push by the Department of Defense to prioritize sexual assault prevention and care for survivors, Lay said. The HRC at Fort Knox has 42 victims’ advocates on staff to provide services to survivors.

According to the think tank RAND, one in 16 women and one in 143 men are estimated to experience sexual assault within the military. One in four women and one in 16 men are likely to experience sexual harassment.

Dalton York joined WKU Public Radio in December 2021 as a reporter and host of Morning Edition. He graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in History from Murray State University, and was named MSU's Outstanding Senior Man for fall 2021. He previously served as a student reporter and All Things Considered host for WKMS, part of the Kentucky Public Radio network. He has won multiple Kentucky Associated Press Awards and Impact Broadcast Awards from the Kentucky Broadcasters Association. A native of Marshall County, Dalton is a proud product of his tight-knit community.