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Sexual assault in the army
Sexual assault in the army
Sexual abuse in the army essay
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The act of enlisting in war has been seen as an honorable task since the establishment of the military and its different branches. To take pride and to fight for one’s nation is the true meaning of being an American citizen. Like with every decision made in life, enlisting in the military has consequences. The act of war is often unpredictable and many measures are taken into count. These soldiers therefore, entrust their life to the military. However, what most soldiers never take into consideration before enlisting is the fact that a majority of them will be subjected to a form of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. Sexual abuse and harassment that occurs within their own respected military group. These soldiers get in trouble for reporting …show more content…
In addition, having in consideration that the military is mostly made up of males, twenty percent is a high amount of male soldiers subjected to sexual assault and sexual harassment in reality. Victims of sexual abuse and harassment are generally involved in different situations, but according to a study performed by the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, “men are more likely to experience military sexual assault and harassment from a same-sex perpetrator, whereas the perpetrators of women’s military sexual assault and harassment experiences are most often of the opposite sex”. (Street et al). Regardless of gender, these victims are both abused and harassed, most of which deal with long-term effects. These effects can range from emotional problems, to trust issues, and even mental conditions like depression. The Department of Veteran Affairs describes the effects of these inhuman acts as MST, or military sexual trauma. In most cases, victims have a hard time readjusting to sexual acts. With the trauma inflicted by the attackers, these individuals fear sexual contact and
From the end of the draft in 1973 to the military data from 2003, the number of women in service rose from 2 percent to 12 percent. A sample of military women studied in 1991 showed 69 percent to have experienced sexual harassmen...
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.
... The General Accounting Office concluded in a hearing on May 8th 1999 that combat inclusion is the greatest impediment to women attaining higher military rank. Until qualified women are given access to assignments that are central to the militaries mission, they will be marginalized. Sexual harassment is a huge problem
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...
There are some opponents of the ban of women fighting in combat that say that having women and men together in war may lead to women accusing the men of sexual harassment, and it can happen, and it has before. All women that fight in war claim that it is a problem happening persistently, not stopping. It happened to a female soldier in the navy. She claimed she was being sexually harassed by shipmates. She reported one man that just would not stop harassing her and then she waited for him to be brought to justice. Some people say that they have seen commanders “look away” when women reported being sexually harassed, meaning that ...
The corruption around sexual assault in the U.S. military is overwhelmingly devastating. Many women would report cases of rape just to be told that they were lying, or that there was not enough evidence or that their rape kit had been lost.7 In some cases, the attackers would be the victim’s commander; these officials did 25% of sexual assaults.6 The military has huge power in this nation and have been using their power to cover up their own criminal acts. It is difficult for the victims to come forward for these horrible assaults. Women that do come forward either lose their ranking or nothing’s done because the person they go to is friends with the assailant. It is believed that over 85-90% of rapes in the U.S. military go unreported. Over the years, floods of people have come forward, yet the number of unreported cases remains the same.6 The documentary Invisible War did a tremendous job on bringing this problem into the eyes of the public and to our government, which recently passed legisl...
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.
Angelique Vasquez Professor Scala WGS 4100 I recently saw the documentary, The Invisible War (Kirby Dick, Amy Ziering). The Invisible War exposes the epidemic of rape and sexual assault in the U.S. military, and by using personal stories and the government’s own figures and statistics from Department of Defense reports over the years, the film demonstrates what it means to serve in the military if you’re a woman. I had no idea what I was about to witness while watching this documentary about rape in the military, but I was not prepared for the full story The Invisible War presents. The documentary outlines some of the hard facts: 20% of service women have been sexually assaulted while serving. Women who have suffered what they call ‘Military Sexual Trauma’ have a higher rate of PTSD than men who’ve served in combat.
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.
What do Americans hope for when they send their young men and women to serve their country? Some will say justice and duty; others will hope that their loved ones gain respect and responsibility. But the overall idea that Americans want for their sailors and soldiers, whether overseas or on land, is safety. Safety from harm and from unnecessary evils that may be present in whatever zone they may be entering. What if that idea of safety was a farce? What if the very people we have sent to protect us, are becoming victims, help just a fleeting hope? America’s military is experiencing this epidemic currently. The epidemic is known as sexual assault. The commanding officers in charge of protecting our armed forces from undue violence can, in fact, be the ones hindering their safety and justice based on a myriad of discriminations. Sexual assault cases need to be taken away from military authorities and put into the hands of the civilian justice system to avoid unfair trials and mistreatment of victims. In turn, the results will offer victims and perpetrators fair trials and a chance to be heard.
"The soldier is the Army. No army is better than its soldiers. The Soldier is also a citizen. In fact, the highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is that of bearing arms for one’s country” (-General George S. Patton Jr). Here within our borders we are the lucky ones, we have been blessed with the pleasure of so many brave men and women; to volunteer in the world's greatest military; and put their lives on the line for something that they believe is a moral obligation. But, think of some other countries, that have conscription (the practice of ordering people by law to serve in the armed forces) laws. We as a nation have some laws on conscription, and if you are male and above the age of 18 you have already signed the slip of paper stating that in the time of war; if our great nation re-instated the draft then there is a great chance you will be serving on the frontline of the next Great War. This brings me to my first topic of this page, is it ethical to have a draft? My second topic that I will discuss will be on if it is morally acceptable to "draft dodge". What I mean on the second topic is if you have a right; that morally allows you to not go fight in the war.
Excluding women from frontline combat is essentially sexist. Regardless of the many substantial contributions women have made to the United States military from the American Revolutionary war to the contemporary Iraq and Afghanistan wars, it has long been a sanctuary of masculinity, which consequently, has resulted in the organization’s steadfast resistance against women’s direct martial participation. The opponents of women frontline combat argue that females are unable to execute the required responsibilities of battle based on gender and gender role stereotypes. Such opinions are comprised of the assumption that women are physically and psychologically weaker than men are, require supplementary accommodations, and are more vulnerable to sexual abuse. Thus, much of the resistance to women joining the military in combat roles is derived from the traditional, discriminatory belief that men should protect women from harm.
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.
Joining the military is a staple for my family; most of my family members have served in some branch of the military for different time intervals. The things that drive my desire to be an officer in the Air Force are to serve my country while being able to get an education, so I am capable of making a career out of the Air Force. A big part of me wanted to be an officer is my uncle who is a retired master sergeant, has talked to me about how he would like to see me be able to use my attributes to lead. I first devolved an interest in joining the academy was after my graduation from high school. The genesis of this was seeing my friends who has enlisted and were serving their country lit a fire beneath me, but I promised my mother that I would
Rape in the military occurs almost twice as much as in civilian life. The Pentagon passed strict laws against rape, yet only 40 percent of rapes are being reported. Since the Pentagon only recognizes rapes that are reported, the extent of the problem is often overlooked. Why do women not report rape? The laws may be harsh but they do not cover all sides of the situation. For instance, reforms in the procedures for reporting rape