Article 120, UCMJ, is rape and sexual assault generally. The manual for courts-martial provides a very detailed and informative definition of what Sexual Assault is. The goal of this article is not to regurgitate that definition for you, but simply to make you aware of some of the common themes and similarities seen in past military sexual assault cases, provide some clarity on the two reporting options and finally to make you aware of some of the resources available to you in the event you become a victim of sexual assault. Many military sexual assault cases share two prominent characteristics; the consumption of alcohol and lack of clearly given consent. The unfortunate and tragic truth is sexual assaults still occur within our ranks. However, we can mitigate our chances of becoming a victim by educating ourselves, being aware of common themes and staying proactive in the prevention of this despicable crime. The first and most striking similarity shared in recent sexual assault cases is alcohol was present. Not only was it present, but it was a very significant factor in these cases. This is no minor detail. Alcohol has a way of making people more willing to disregard normal decision-making processes and engage in behavior they wouldn’t remotely consider in normal instances. Unfortunately, some of these …show more content…
What is consent? Consent is a willing agreement that exist between sober, non-coerced, and mentally capable adults when engaging in activities together. Consent is given or taken away at any time. Just because a person had consent in the past does not mean they have it in the future. This is a very important concept and requirement that must be established within any sexual relationship. It is absolutely critical to understand if your partner does not expressly give their consent and commit a sexual act upon them, you have sexually assaulted that
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.
The vast amount of research has provided several explanations to account for the behavior of the offenders and the low rate in which sexual assault cases initiate criminal proceedings through a variety of theoretical perspectives. These include the classical approaches that focus on the individual who has committed sexual assault and the positivist approaches that aim to explain the social factors that influence the prosecution rates th...
“Every 21 hours there is a rape on an American College Campus” (Sexual Violence on College Campuses). Sexual assault is something many have heard of and maybe know someone who was sexually assaulted in their lifetime. Sexual assault and sexual violence has been around for as long as our history books can tell us. With multiple cultural changes and new “fads”, as some may say, of college life; sexual assault has become a sort of recurring phenomenon of college lifestyles. This is not a positive thing and in no way should this be labeled as something good for college campuses. Sexual assault on college campuses should be prosecuted as rape can be falsely accused, non-consensual or under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, and is permanently
In the surveys they have referenced in the article, it displays military sexual trauma increases among women during and after military deployment of unwanted sexual contact in recent years. The authors have recruited and conducted of twenty-two US servicewomen telephone interviews from May 2011 to January 2012 to participate a qualitative study with or without their MST experiences. They asked the participants questions regarding about MST during deployment and other factors which are disturbing their reporting and accessing to services against the perpetrators. The issues of sexism, high stress levels, and failed military leadership contributing factors which put these servicewomen in jeopardy of MST. Some of the interview women said that servicewomen do not report MST due to lack of support from peers, unreliable confidentiality, stigma, and other barriers. The interviewees feel more comfortable opening to medical care services after deployment in the United States that grips with sexual assault cases than throughout deployment around the world. The participants have suggested to improving the MST services: by increasing awareness, prosecution, investigation, cultural shift, and independence service providers. The interviewees recognized that Military se...
Legally, one might wonder how sexual assault is defined. According to Massachusetts State law, there are two major categories of sexual assault against adults. One of these is rape, and the other is indecent assault and battery. Rape is defined as “sexual intercourse or unnatural sexual intercourse with a person and compels such person to submit by force and against his/her will, or compels such person to submit by threat of bodily injury.” Rape and attempted rape are punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Picture this. You are heading off to college to begin the next chapter of your life. It is a moment you have always been waiting for. You are past the high school drama, and are ready to start taking classes that will allow you to obtain a degree in something you have always been passionate about. It’s your first week on campus and you are invited to a party being hosted by a group of upper classman. You show up to the party and immediately are handed a red cup with what you know is something you shouldn’t be drinking. You take a sip anyway and soon start talking to that guy in the corner who at first seems friendly, but soon begins to take advantage of you. Just like that everything changes. This is a situation millions of people face every
What is 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).
Messman-Moore, L. T, Ward, M. R., & DeNArd, A. K. (2013). The impact of sexual alcohol expectancies and risky behavior on alcohol-involved rape among college women. Violence against women, 19(4), 449.
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.
Pennsylvania state law defines sexual assault as having sexual intercourse with another person without his or her consent. This includes deviate sexual intercourse, or penetration of another using a foreign object. For
Jared Wright tells how when in the military he was assaulted by leaders and other members of the platoon as a newbie. The discussed how these individuals held him down and showed how they were superior to him not only the one time, but throughout his entire experience being deployed. The actions of the NCOs depict that of male individual that feel like they need to express how dominant they are to other in a lower position by doing certain this just because they feel threaten. Furthermore, in her interview Anu Bhagwati discusses how the military uses the number of rape cases to try and limit women from joining the military by declaring that rape within the military is only a women’s issue. Those in power within the military reinforce the feminist and the sociological theory on rape uses it to keep women in a certain place in society by inadvertently encouraging gender roles. Clearly, rape in the military in not just a woman’s issues as stated by Anu Bhagwati more than half reported rape cases in the military are from men and enforcing these stereotypes prevents fighting this issue to take full
According to the US Justice Department, sexual assault is any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient and includes sexual activities such as forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and attempted rape. Sexual assault has always been an unacknowledged problem within society, especially on college campuses, with many people either being reluctant to speak out, believing it to be a sort of “myth” or call for attention, or just not knowing how to deal with it. For example, more than one-third of victims don’t report attacks because they didn’t realize a crime was committed. Sexual assault is a serious problem that must not be suppressed by individuals
Sexual assault is not believable when alcohol is present because it is seen as, ‘you were asking for it’. “The second person I asked said I would ruining his life”. Because even though he’s the assailant and he is in the wrong he will have to face consequences and his reputation will be ruined. “The third person I told said it wasn’t a university issue” Australian universities’ policies and procedures regarding sexual assault are often confusing, inconsistent, incomplete, or in some cases non-existent. This makes it extremely difficult for students who have been sexually assaulted to know where they can get help, who they can report the assault to, and what complaint procedures are. “ The fourth person I told asked why I waited so long to tell anyone”.
victims that year” (Military Sexual Assault: The Basics) . While a normal civilian that is charged
Roth, Norah M. "It's Not Rape-Rape: Statutory Rape Classification Under The Armed Career 00000 Criminal Act." St. John's Law Review 85.4 (2011): 1653-1680. Academic Search Complete. 00000 Web. 13 Nov. 2013.