Sexual assault is a prevalent issue in today’s society. According to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, sexual assault is any type of forced or coerced sexual contact and/or behavior that happens without consent. This includes (attempted) rape, sexual harassment, or threats. It is stigmatized, defamed, and victims are often looked upon as lesser human beings. This backwards view of rape in our culture is extended into all aspects of our life, even in well-respected aspects of our lives such as the military. Sexual abuse in the military is a prominent issue that many women in the armed forces have to face on a daily basis. However, many women entering the military do not realize the dangers that they face when they enlist. In order …show more content…
Sexual harassment is further defined as a repeated, unwanted verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature. In 2014, the Department of Defense estimated the number of sexual assaults in the military to be 20,300—with twenty-two percent of active-duty women having faced some time of sexual abuse. However, a major problem with accurately counting the number of sexual abuse cases in the military is that many women do not come forward and report their abuse in fear of retaliation. A Marine who reported her rape said she found her picture posted on a website frequented by her colleagues. It was smeared with profane insults and a call for her to be silenced “before she lied about another rape.” One post read: “Find her, tag her, haze her, make her life a living hell.” Another senior master sergeant remembers that when she was young, she had been groped by a judge advocate general and was the subsequently marked down on her performance review. Later, when she was raped, she didn’t report for fear of hurting her career since to her it wasn’t worth …show more content…
Several members of Congress have recently introduced a bill which would strengthen protections for those who report sexual abuse. According to PBS, “[t]his [law] means that rather than requiring investigators to weigh the evidence for and against the whistleblower, as the military currently does, the law would require officers to prove clearly that any personnel action taken against the service member was unrelated to their whistleblower reporting.” By doing this, the law would help protect against retaliation and make it easier for women to come forward about sexual abuse. Lastly, the bill imposes sanctions for supervisors who don’t curb harassment by their subordinates and allow action against anyone who has retaliated against a whistleblower. However, as idealistic and progressive as this seems, the ideas about human rights and social justice from this course that I have learned show me that no issue is this easily overcome. Even though we can all agree that rape is bad, combatting it is easier said than done. There are many social structures in place that make it hard to completely overcome and many people are unwilling to change their way of life. There is a culture of hyper masculinity in the military that seems to reinforce the traditional military stereotype of a strong, heterosexual man over other service men and women. Victims of sexual assault
In 1996, Captain Derrick Robinson, Sergeant Delmar Simpson, and Sergeant Nathanael Beech were arraigned for their suspected involvement in one of the biggest sex scandals the United States Military had seen. According to CNN, between these three men, charges of rape and adultery were pending in a huge case of sexual misconduct against female soldiers at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland (CNN, 2996). Following this incident, the United States Military took it upon themselves to open a telephone hotline to encourage the reporting of similar harsh crimes. Furthermore, the spike in reporting influenced extensive research to examine the prevalence of rape against women soldiers in the U.S. Military (Titunik, 2000). This paper will explore the dynamics of rape against women soldiers in the military and the research done on its prevalence.
Military records show over 20 percent of female veterans have been sexually assaulted (Ziering and Dick The Invisible War). As well as being assaulted, these women are then told no further action will be taken. 33 percent of military women do not report their sexual assault because the person to report to was a friend of the rapist (Ziering and Dick The Invisible War). Those who do come forward are punished for making such allegations. As the film continues, it begins to show overwhelming evidence of lack of punishment for the offenders....
The common story from victims who report being raped, according to a Military Rape Crisis Center worker, is that they were “met with disbelief and skepticism, blamed for the crime, and disposed of one way or another,” (Kitfield). Until the military stops re-victimizing the victims it will never be able to completely eradicate rape from the ranks.
90 percent of the victims of sexual assault are women and 10 percent are men, and nearly 99 percent of offenders in single-victim assaults are men (Bureau of Justice Statistics 2010). According to https://www.justice.gov/ovw/sexual-assault, Sexual assault is any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient. Falling under the definition of sexual assault are sexual activities as forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and attempted rape. () Sexual Assault can happen to anyone, not just women it can happen to men and kids as well. Sexual Assault these days are a big trouble and it is not being addressed in good order, and it is
Military Sexual Trauma, also known as MST. What is it and why is it important? MST refers to psychological trauma resulting from a sexual assault or repeated, threatening harassment experienced during military service (pg. 3). Now, let us take a moment and think about the relevance of this subject? When we think of our women in combat, what do we see? We see strong and courteous females. But have we ever thought about what could be lurking underneath all that armor?
In September 2011, the United States lifted the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy (DADT), which restricted gay, lesbian, and bisexuals from openly serving in the military. This was the first time in American history in which people of every sexual orientation could serve openly (“11 Facts About,” n.d.). This was a momentous occasion for some and not so much for others. For those military members that had served in secret and those members that were firmly against gays and lesbians, this repeal had different meaning. Both groups contained members that have served in the military for years and were products of the Former President Bill Clinton’s 1993 “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. For many soldiers of this era, communication issues arose due to a pre-existing mentality, learned rules and regulations in services reinforced for two decades and the general cultural within combat related fields.
Sexual assault is defined as any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient. Falling under the definition of sexual assault are sexual activities as forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and In the United States 80% of sexual assault victims are under the age of 30. Of that 80%, 44% are under the age of 18 (RAINN, 2016). That leaves 36% of victims between the ages of 18 and 30. These percentages become even more alarming when that 80% is of about 293,000 victims of secual assualt each year (RAINN, 2016). It is estimated that 1 in every 6 women in the US has been or will be victims of sexual assault in their lifetime. The risks of sexual assault increase on college campuses. Women ages 18-24 who are enrolled in college are 3 times more likely than women in general to suffer from sexual violence (RAINN, 2016). One would think that with all these women being sexually assaulted, one would hear more about it, or perhaps the police stations would constantly be busy. This is not the case. Sexual assault is one of the most unreported crimes, with 68% still being left unreported (RAINN, 2016). This could be because of every 100 rapists, only 2 will spend a day in jail. Of the 32 out of 100 that would be reported, only 7 are referred to an arrest (RAINN, 2016). Why would men or women want to report sexual assault when the system that is supposed to protect them fails so often, and why does this system continue to fail?
In Kirby Dick’s influential documentary “The Invisible War,” filmmaker Kirby Dick uses pathos, ethos and logos to gain information and supplementary details to make his point that there is an epidemic of rape in throughout the DOD (Department of Defense) and the fact that military sexual trauma (MST) in the United States military goes unheard, mostly unpunished and needs to be addressed at a higher level.
The US Military has a long history and jaded history of issues with sexual assault. The number of women sexually assaulted in the US Military is 5% higher than that of women in the ficivilian population; there are an estimated 20,000 sexual assaults on women service members each year. This is not, however, a strictly female problem; it is estimated that nearly half of... ... middle of paper ... ... ese predators will be back in the civilian population and with no criminal record of sexual assault, they will pose a risk to many Americans.
Sexual assault is defined as “any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient.” (“Sexual Assault”, 2nd heading). An average of 237,868 Americans (ages 12+) are sexually assaulted per year. This translates to an american being sexually assaulted every two minutes. This does not even include all of the children who are victims of sexual assault. The government has tried to combat these appallingly high statistics with various pieces of legislature, including Title IX.
According to a statement addressing the sexual victimization of college women The Crime and Victimization in America states that, “ One out of four women will be sexually assaulted on a college campus.” This disturbing fact has not minimized throughout the years, instead it is continuing to worsen throughout college campuses. Sexual assault is not an act to be taken lightly. Society must stop pinpointing the individuals who commit these crimes one by one, but rather look at the problem as a whole and begin to understand the main cause of sexual assault and possible methods to reduce these acts of sexual coercion.
"Ending the Ban on Women in Combat May Reduce Sexual Assault. " Sexual Assault and the Military. Ed. Noah Berlatsky. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2015.
The purpose of this essay is to discuss the issue of rape and sexual assault in the military. The number of attacks for rape and sexual assault in the military are at an all-time high. Women have recently been allowed to fight on the front line. While this may be a huge achievement for women-kind, for this woman, it is a very scary thought. I am a junior at Texas Academy of Biomedical Sciences; a school geared towards students wishing to enter the medical field. I may be forced to join the military one day if a war breaks out and women are needed to protect the country. I would be happy to serve my country if I did not have to be scared of my fellow soldiers. Rape and sexual assault are major issues in the military and have been for many years without much effort to decrease the attacks. I am suggesting that unless the rape and sexual assault issue is fixed, the amount of people joining the military, specifically the women, will decrease greatly.
According to DoD, in 2012, 17.8% charges were filed by males compared to 82.2% charges filed by females and similarly in 2013, 17.6% charges filed by males Compared 82.4% charges were filed by females. These numbers are alarming and shocking and hence essential to be addressed. These states are the main reason why the military is in the spotlight for last couple of years, for failing to support victims and respond to and prevent sexual assault. Department of Defense estimates that “Sexual assault within the military continues to occur at alarming levels with 26,000 anonymously reported incidents in 2012 alone. During this same period, only 3,300 service members reported their assaults”.
Despite the positive outcomes due to increasing numbers of women in the workplace, females tend to incur many challenges. Sexual harassment is one of those constraints, happening worldwide. According to Effects of Sexual Harassment on Job Satisfaction, Retention, Cohesion, Commitment and Unit Effectiveness: The Case of the Air Force, the increase of women entering the labour force combined with a strong emphasis on equal rights, is indicating that there is a widespread problem of sexual harassment (Moore, 2010). Numerous studies and surveys have shown that a large percent of women have been harassed and it is having serious consequences for both the individual and the organization. A 2014 survey completed by the Angus Reid Institute showed