Supporting Our Female Troops, Too

If there was ever a good reason to get a plan together to get the U.S. out of Iraq in due time, the assault & rape of our women in uniform is a very good one.

I am all for equality. I was born with a couple genetic problems that would have precluded me from joining the military. But my father, of blessed memory, was in the Army. My uncle, of blessed memory, was a Navy War Hero who was on a ship sunk by the Germans and spent some time in a military hospital after rescuing a number of men. My father in law, also of blessed memory, was in the Canadian Army and served in the U.K. during World War II, having done hand to hand combat with German soldier. There's a graveyard in Oxford, Mass. with gravestones with my last name on them - many of them fought as infantry and naval men during the Revolutionary War. I believe that while war is profane, defense is compulsory.

And if you're an able bodied woman, who wants to serve their country via the military - I say - go for it. But not when you run the risk of being assaulted or raped by your own! Granted, Iraq or not this may go on. However multiple deployments and an unclear policy are causing this problem to get worse, not better. Today I got some of these from a fellow anti-abuse advocate. I'll just quote a few pieces from what I read and link to the full story if you want to take a look:

Military sexual assault survivors and their advocates say the case of Suzanne Swift typifies the Pentagon’s failure to address the prevalence of sexual assault inside its ranks, as well as the unmet needs of survivors and the impunity enjoyed by assailants.

Swift went AWOL in January to avoid deployment with a battalion in which she underwent repeated incidents of sexual harassment and abuse. Now she is being thrown in the brig while only one of her three alleged transgressors has received so much as a letter of reprimand.


Beth Davis... described being raped and sexually assaulted as a first year cadet, only to be punished and dismissed from the [Air Force A]cademy after reporting the incidents. She speaks, she estimates, on behalf of thousands of survivors of violence like herself.


Christine Hansen, executive director of the Miles Foundation... related that while new DoD policy states that survivors have a choice of whether to disclose the details of their assaults without triggering the military investigative process, some survivors report being pressured to choose non-restricted reporting, meaning their communications are not confidential and they are subject to retaliation from other servicemembers and superiors.

ORIGINAL

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More than 100 young women who expressed interest in joining the military in the past year were preyed upon sexually by their recruiters. Women were raped on recruiting office couches, assaulted in government cars and groped en route to entrance exams.

A six-month Associated Press investigation found that more than 80 military recruiters were disciplined last year for sexual misconduct with potential enlistees. The cases occurred across all branches of the military and in all regions of the country.


"This should never be allowed to happen," said one 18-year-old victim. "The recruiter had all the power. He had the uniform. He had my future. I trusted him."


"He said to her, outright, if you want to join the Marines, you have to have sex with me," Vogel said. "She was a virgin. She was 17 years old."

ORIGINAL
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Swift’s former lawyer Lawrence Hildes offers a contrasting view. He told The NewStandard that when Swift was targeted for sexual harassment by her platoon sergeant in Kuwait in February 2005 and was then manipulated into having sex with another superior in Iraq later that year, she did not file a formal complaint out of fear. Her alleged assailant in Iraq "made it very clear to her that there would be real repercussions if she reported it, and she believed him," Hildes said.


"The most important thing people need to know is that they should not be silent because of fear," Rich told TNS. "We have to do something about how our military is oppressing women. This is not an isolated incident."

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Rape is wrong. I think most of us agree on that. Whether a male or female is being raped - its wrong. But many rapists and those who try to assist in the cover-up or minimization of a rape use the excuses:

- it was consentual
- she's just a SCORNED WOMAN

or (and I have lost count of how many times I've heard this one in my anti-abuse advocacy work):

the abuser/rapist tries to get the woman to WAIT to report the assault. Why? So he has time to tell his buddies, his superiors, his partner/wife, etc. - that she's just some nutty, scorned woman who is looking to get revenge on him and it never happened the way she says.

It's flabbergasting and heinous how predictable this pattern is. (Abusers use it too) In fact, when I see it - it becomes abundantly clear who is lying. Military or not this is not acceptable under any circumstances.

So what is wrong with the Pentagon and the Military that they allow this? That they cover it up? That they look the other way? Or drag their feet? Or allow the assaulted person reporting the rape to be dismissed while the rapists get a slap on the wrist?

I could go on & on about our troops needing proper body armor or the despicable way the V.A. and Pentagon treat those who return home disabled physically or mentally. Emotional Rape counts too.

Rape is never justified, as it is not justifiable. No excuse is good enough. Rape is the violent, humiliating attack by men (usually) against girls and women (usually), to dominate, intimidate, and control them.

Less often, but just as important and just as unacceptable, rape is also violence, manipulation and humiliation commited by men against boys and other men. As such, it is not about "sex" or "sexuality:" it is about abuse for the sake of abuse. It is about the hatred and anger some men have towards girls and women, and against boys and men who the abuser perceives as feminine.

Rape is non-consensual "sex," be it physical or emotional. [Consent under false pretenses or when the victim is lied to - is now considered by many to be a form of rape.] Rape may be commited without there being "actual copulation" and other sexual acts--- "sexual assault" can also mean intimidation and the threat of sexual abuse that is non-consensual. The victimizer need not even touch his victim for assault to occur.

ORIGINAL

Right now I just want to focus on the rape and sexual assault. It doesn't say much for us as a society or for our military that this goes on. Granted the people I do know in the military have told me there are enlisted persons that would be career criminals if they weren't in the military. That doesn't recuse the military or our government of their responsibilities to those who defend the United States.

These men and WOMEN - are working and fighting to protect us. Whether I think the war is illegal and we should get out - the fact remains they are our military.

Call your congressman or senator today. On my sidebar (left hand side) down in the political icons are links to write to Congress or your Senator with help to finding their names and email addresses. And while you're at it, go surf on "rape in the military" and look at all the hits that come up. And tell our lawmakers to take a hard line and get justice for these women who were assault in service to our country. (Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, whom I have had dealings with over the years - always positive - already are taking some action and could use your support!)

Support Our Troops is not a bumper sticker. Whether or not I agree with the war, our military deserves our respect and our support when they need it.


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