Hot Topic for Military Sexual Assault
The military is facing a major controversy when it comes to sexual harassment and sexual assault. Both sides of this controversy generally feel something needs to be changed so these crimes decrease and our soldiers feel safe among their comrades. The basic argument of this issues is how the government and military can change to decrease these crimes. This leads to the main question for this issue. Should Military Commanders prosecute sexual assault cases?
. A person cannot decide on an issue if they do not know what the controversy is even focusing on. The reason is the person does not have all the facts to make an educated option. As a result, when looking at this controversy fist we have to look at what sexual assault and harassment are and the differences between these two. Sexual assault is forced or threatened sexual contact from another person. (Dictionary.com) An example of this would be rape because the person is being forced into sexual intercourse, which is sexual contact. Sexual harassment is unwanted sexual advances from a supervisor or employer. (Dictionary.com) A boss could make a unwanted sexual comment like “your breasts looks nice” to an employer, this is unwanted and it is a sexual comment. As a result, it is sexual harassment. A person can make an educated option about the controversy now that they know what the focus of the controversy focuses on.
Apart of this issue is to look at how the military received the power to take cases in their own courts and not public courts. In the 1776 Articles of War it stated that rape or any capital crime was not taken to the commander but to civil courts. Congress passed the” Act for Enrolling and Calling Out the National Forc...
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...dience member for this paper would be military service members. These are the people who can testify in Congress for either side of this issues because they are directly affected by the decision of who has the power to hear their cases.
Works Cited
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com. na na 2014. 7 April 2014.
Gilibrand, Kirsten. "Should Commanders Deal With Sexual Assault?" U.S. News Digital Weekly 28 June 2013: NA. Document.
Koons, Jennifer. CQ researcher. 9 August 2013. Document. 6 April 2014.
Library, Lillian Goldman Law. Lillian Goldman Law Library. na na 2008. 7 April 2014.
Publications, Congressional Documents and. Klobuchar Legislation to Help Fight Sexual Assault in the Military Included in National Defense Authorization . report. Lanham: Federal Information & News Dispatch, Inc., 2013. database.
The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010. Web. 7 April 2014
Federalist no. 78 is persistent in its sort of justifications of the Constitutions vagueness. The letter claims that the judiciary branch is of the least danger of t...
The Avalon Project at Yale Law School. 18 May 2006. The Avalon Project. 18 MAY 2006. The War Powers Act of 1973.
In what is sure to be a very solemn matter for all American students and their families across the country , in January 2013 , President Obama, the office of the Vice President and the White House Council on Women and Girls converged and issued a renewed call to action against rape and sexual assault report which analyzes the most recent reliable data about this issue and identifies who are the most in peril victims of this malefaction, investigates the costs of this violence both for victims and communities , and describes the replication very often inadequate of the US malefactor equity system.
Jost, Kenneth. "The Federal Judiciary." CQ Researcher 8.10 (1998). CQ Researcher. SAGE Publications. Web. 01 Mar. 2011. .
Although 14,000 sexual assault victims in the military are men, and 12,000 are women (US Commission on Civil Rights), women are seen as the primary victims. Because of this, removing women from equal combat roles has bee...
in the military today. Over 42 percent of all enlisted women say they have sexual harassed by they*re male colleges. There have been major scandals
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...
Ode, Kim. "Sexual Trauma: Women Vets' Secret War." ProQuest, 18 Dec. 2010. Web. 20 Mar. 2012.
Today, Native American women continue to be victimized and remain vulnerable targets within, their communities, reservations, tribal law enforcement agencies, and federal law enforcement agencies. In order to restore peace and justice for Native women we first need to have critical and substantive discussion regarding all aspects of sexual assault on r...
There is no excuse nor any type of justification for rape. However, because it is a widespread problem, a demand for widespread awareness is in order. As global citizens, the world needs to become more conscious on the effects of stigmas and stereotypes for rape within the military. By eliminating these influences, a decrease in sexual violence cases can be met. Until then, it is crucial that this issue thought about seriously, and taken into perspective. By raising awareness alone, even outside the military, a stand can be taken against these labels that are costing veterans their livelihoods and peace of mind.
When a victim comes forth, it takes a lot of courage. Unfortunately, administration treats them like as if they confessed to a crime to the assaulter. Administration has swept their problem away by suggestions such as advising them not to go to parties, not wear skanky clothes, not to drink, and to sympathize with the perpetrator. This form of victim blaming can discourage them, making them feel worse, like as if they were wrong. “Sasha Menu Courey, the University of Missouri swimmer, told a nurse, a rape crisis counselor, a campus therapist, two doctors and an athletic department administrator that she was raped, but no one did anything about it. Sixteen months after the attack, she killed herself.” stated by Petula Divork, a columnist for The Huffington Post, “You can’t blame sexual assaults on clothing, flirting, binge drinking or parties. Even when you take all that away, there are still smart, clean-cut, young evangelical men who think they have a right to women’s bodies. It’s not about women stopping an attack. It’s about men learning that they never had the right to begin one.”
"Military Faced with Sex Harassment - Woman battle unsympathetic justice system." Bergen Record. Nov. 1992: A-16
In conclusion, the perception of sexual harassment changes from person to person, gender to gender, and where the supposed act may take place. The past has proven that in any case, women are more likely to perceive a broader range of sexual contact or gestures as sexual harassment, while men will be less inclined to say anything. Perception is everything in sexual harassment, and dependent on the environment, may or may not have adverse effects none the less.
I am suggesting that the prosecution of rapists and sexual assaulters should be handled by civilian courts instead of by the military’s own system, like it is currently being handled. This would allow for the attackers to be fairly judged and obtain a formal punishment that they deserve. It is no secret that the military has in the past made up rules as they go concerning rape. No formal punishment is given and most cases are not even considered for trial. This utter lack of concern for the rape and sexual assault victims will dissuade future soldiers from joining the army and the other branches of service. Soldiers will be more scared for their safety from their fellow soldiers than by being killed by the common enemy.
Last week the White House released a short, celebrity packed, 60-second public service announcement (PSA) on the topic of sexual assault. 1 is 2 Many addressed those who are in control of preventing sexual assault as its intended audience was those who can put a stop to sexual violence: the perpetrators or would-be offenders. Although this one minute announcement completes the task of bringing sexual assault to the forefront of discussion, it fails to encompass central issues of rape culture: societal perceptions, the victim, and the justice system. Sexual assault is a phenomenon that has been around for centuries. The culture of sexual assault is rooted in both legal practices and societal perceptions; in order for its reforms to be effective, they need to target both aspects of rape culture, as one factor by itself is not enough to maintain reforms and foster needed change. The culture of rape—how it is defined, its victims and its offenders (and how they are perceived by society), myths, and its laws—has changed throughout the years, and in particular during the first wave of legal reforms in the 1970’s. Although these legal and social changes are improvements from past conditions, they can be further developed and expanded.