Comments on: Sexual Assault Permeates U.S. Armed Forces

CBS Evening News: Shocking Report On Frequent Attacks, Low Rate Of Investigation, Prosecution

[magioe]

Edit to my last: Please do not think this is a SEXIST argument

[vetwow]

cornbiker, I know this happens, but I don't see it much. You do know that you can appeal your BCD? If there was an investigation, you have a good chance to do that.

[magioe]

Just as in civilian life, women in the military have certain traits when it comes to sex and sexual assault:
1) Women with strong moral beliefs and strong willpower: These women are the ones that know what they do or do not want, and are more than willing to let a guy know. They tend to be more responsible when choosing their sexual partners. The vast majority of women in the military, in fact, fall into this category.
2) Women with strong moral beliefs and weak willpower: A combination that may result in a woman doing something she regrets- but not blaming others for it.
3) Women with a lack of moral beliefs and strong willpower: These are the women who will use sex as a leverage tool. They aren't afraid to use it to blackmail and coerce, and they certainly aren't afraid to use a rape claim as a tool.
4) Women with a lack of morals and weak willpower: This last category consists of those who will make mistakes in judgement, and then "work the system" to essentially shift the blame. Also not afraid to play a false rape card, if it gets them out of trouble.

Now, let me make two things perfectly clear: First- you can categorize men the same way, so please don't think this is a racist arguement. Women may have "the rape card" but men with similar moral lackings certainly have their own "tools."

Second, ANY women in ANY of these four clasifications can be raped. And rape is NEVER acceptable. However, it is important to realize that it is a fact of life that women who fall into my categories 3 & 4 above do in fact false report rapes for their own personal reasons. And that makes the identification of real rapes and the prosecution of real rapists all the harder.

There is no way to "solve" the sexual assult problem. But by continuing to develop and promote tools that help victims of actual sexual assault report these acts, we can help identify the real rapists (both in the military and outside). Second, (and this is much harder to accomplish) we must find ways to reduce or eliminate false sexual assult claims. This is an especially delicate issue, since whatever measures taken to protect the innocent but accused must not affect the rights of the assaulted to report crimes with impunity.

Ultimately, it's a good idea (regardless of your occupation) to know what you are getting into before you have sex with someone. Perhaps if we had fewer drunken one-night stands (military or otherwise), we'd see less of both real sexual assault and false accusations. Now there is a win-win situation.

[erasmus111]

When the Headline reads:

"Male soldier gets his nuts knocked out his ears by female soldier"

(after he tried to sexually assault her)

Is when I say it's alright for women to join the military.

Posted by billpl-2009 at 10:37 AM : Mar 18, 2009

Hahaha!

Geez, I just may have to join. : )

[vranger]

"Come on, why can't you admit that like most Americans you simply enjoy the idea of violence? "

... what a moronic bigot.

[tomanyt]

jackiebrundidge...Where did you copy/paste that from?

[erasmus111]

The ones who don't mean to offend can learn by the offendee standing up and saying, "knock the crap off" and they will actually stop.

Posted by Michelle0809 at 9:33 AM : Mar 18, 2009

Sure they will stop. They will stop doing it to you, because they know they aren't going to get away with it. BUT, they will probably just continue it with someone else.

This is something they have probably been doing for years and years. They aren't just going to stop.

[jackiebrundidge]

One theory that has been explored when trying to understand rape and sexual abuse is that certain groups of persons hold beliefs that are conducive to the attacks. Rape culture is explained as a man?s belief that he is entitled to dominate a woman. This is a given norm in a system of superior and inferior ranking, one that demands total submission to every order of the commanding officer. A possible compound to this rape culture is that women are not allowed to move into combat, always instead being held in positions of ?combat support?. Women are there to support the men?s actions of war. Even as society would prosecute a company which refused an employment position based on gender, the military makes it clear that gender is a deciding factor in matters of being placed in active combat.
It appears that the United States Military enjoys the protection of not being culpable to standards that society itself would not tolerate. Our military has supported actions to promote the health and well being of women on many different soils and yet one must wonder how many of our female soldiers were being sexually attacked while fighting to free other women from oppression and abuse. Victims often alter their everyday lives in order to avoid being in danger. While in the line of fire it is an atrocity that our women are having the experience of ?everyday violence? from their own fellow soldiers. They are not only faced with the enemy but the enemy within their own unit.
Other theories which attempt to explain rape explore gender identity as having a possible effect. Hegemonic masculinity is a term used to explain the accepted dominance of men over women and oppositional masculinity is defined as the ?explicit resistance and challenges to hegemonic forms? of masculinity. Another term, emphasized femininity, is the makeup of those qualities considered to be feminine. As men and women are placed in roles which do not coincide with their male or female gender it could confuse the accepted order and therefore cause men to seek to balance this with violence aimed at women.
Violating traditional gender roles is thought to have a connection to victims being blamed for their attack or treated with lack of concern when reporting. Our female soldiers violate traditional gender roles and are at greater risk for being blamed for their own attack. This common problem is compounded by the fact that the military itself blames these victims and refuses to prosecute the men who attack them.
Women are a relatively new induction into the military. In her 2004 commencement address at Barnard College, Barbara Ehrenreich said ?Women do not change institutions simply just by assimilating into them?we need a kind of woman who isn?t trying to assimilate, but to infiltrate ? and subvert the institutions she goes into?. The military is an institution in which one must work their way up from the bottom. Persons are promoted based on their length of service as well as what they have accomplished while serving. Currently women are reaching positions of power in the military and more will surely follow. It will take these women, who are not afraid to ?infiltrate ? and subvert? to affect change to the policies which fail to protect our female soldiers.
Many things in life are risk factors for victimization. The compilation of more than one of these factors is referred to as an intersection. The more intersections of these factors that a person has in their life, the higher risk they are for victimization. Sources say 1 in 3 female soldiers and 1 in 6 female civilians are the victim of sexual abuse my conclusion is that the most dangerous intersection is to be a woman and be in the United States Military.

[jackiebrundidge]

One theory that has been explored when trying to understand rape and sexual abuse is that certain groups of persons hold beliefs that are conducive to the attacks. Rape culture is explained as a man?s belief that he is entitled to dominate a woman. This is a given norm in a system of superior and inferior ranking, one that demands total submission to every order of the commanding officer. A possible compound to this rape culture is that women are not allowed to move into combat, always instead being held in positions of ?combat support?. Women are there to support the men?s actions of war. Even as society would prosecute a company which refused an employment position based on gender, the military makes it clear that gender is a deciding factor in matters of being placed in active combat.
It appears that the United States Military enjoys the protection of not being culpable to standards that society itself would not tolerate. Our military has supported actions to promote the health and well being of women on many different soils and yet one must wonder how many of our female soldiers were being sexually attacked while fighting to free other women from oppression and abuse. Victims often alter their everyday lives in order to avoid being in danger. While in the line of fire it is an atrocity that our women are having the experience of ?everyday violence? from their own fellow soldiers. They are not only faced with the enemy but the enemy within their own unit.
Other theories which attempt to explain rape explore gender identity as having a possible effect. Hegemonic masculinity is a term used to explain the accepted dominance of men over women and oppositional masculinity is defined as the ?explicit resistance and challenges to hegemonic forms? of masculinity. Another term, emphasized femininity, is the makeup of those qualities considered to be feminine. As men and women are placed in roles which do not coincide with their male or female gender it could confuse the accepted order and therefore cause men to seek to balance this with violence aimed at women.
Violating traditional gender roles is thought to have a connection to victims being blamed for their attack or treated with lack of concern when reporting. Our female soldiers violate traditional gender roles and are at greater risk for being blamed for their own attack. This common problem is compounded by the fact that the military itself blames these victims and refuses to prosecute the men who attack them.
Women are a relatively new induction into the military. In her 2004 commencement address at Barnard College, Barbara Ehrenreich said ?Women do not change institutions simply just by assimilating into them?we need a kind of woman who isn?t trying to assimilate, but to infiltrate ? and subvert the institutions she goes into?. The military is an institution in which one must work their way up from the bottom. Persons are promoted based on their length of service as well as what they have accomplished while serving. Currently women are reaching positions of power in the military and more will surely follow. It will take these women, who are not afraid to ?infiltrate ? and subvert? to affect change to the policies which fail to protect our female soldiers.
Many things in life are risk factors for victimization. The compilation of more than one of these factors is referred to as an intersection. The more intersections of these factors that a person has in their life, the higher risk they are for victimization. Sources say 1 in 3 female soldiers and 1 in 6 female civilians are the victim of sexual abuse my conclusion is that the most dangerous intersection is to be a woman and be in the United States Military.

[jackiebrundidge]

The US Department of Defense recently posted their FY07 Sexual Misconduct report. According to this report in 2006 there were 2974 reported cases of sexual assault and rape committed on females enlisted in the United States Military. Of those cases only 292 were prosecuted. The data for 2007 was even more disturbing, only 180 of the over 2200 reports led to prosecution. When a conviction is achieved the most common ?sentence? for these felony acts is a reduction of rank and/or pay.
The United States Military creates an environment which fosters sexual abuse upon female enlistees. Without agency, victims not only face abuse, they are then subjected to secondary victimization due to the social and legal structure of the military. While society was experiencing multiple waves of feminine rights avocations, the military was building an environment which is unsafe for women.
During the first wave of the feminist movement (1848-1919) women were not likely to be involved in the military; therefore, it was not necessary to improve policy. As the second wave of the feminist movement (1960?s) took place, society began to accept the idea of women serving in combat support positions; however, women were not saturating a still primarily male military. Finally, with the third wave of the feminist movement (1980?s-present) the population of women in the military reached an all time high. The problem is, until 2005, nothing was being done to protect them from their fellow soldiers and to this day military policy on prosecuting sexual abuse is below what public policy was doing prior to the 1960?s.
In the early 1970?s, victim precipitation theory was considered to be a possible cause of rape. According to this theory, the victim caused the rape in some way by displaying unacceptable behaviors. Currently the military is teaching women how to behave in a ?non-rapable? fashion, just as society did prior to discovering that this theory was simply not logical. As if that isn?t enough the military is also causing women to experience secondary victimization by using their actions just prior to a rape in order to explain why the abuse occurred and then allowing the offender to proceed as if nothing happened.
By 1974 the United State, led by Michigan, began enacting ?Rape Shield Laws?, laws intended to make it easier for the victim to receive the care needed as well as report and prosecute their attacker. In 2005 the department of defense finally created the ?Sexual Assault Prevention and Response? program to train victim?s advocates to be available following abuse incidents. Also in 2005 the military made it possible for a victim to report an incident and be allowed to receive medical and mental health treatment without prompting an official investigation. Why would this be necessary? Due to fear of reprise from the military that many women who report have been subjected to.
Many other norms and beliefs held within the structure of the military have been studied by researchers attempting to solve the riddle of why rape takes place. The code of silence that is assumed to protect this country?s security can easily be transferred into a policy of silence for victims. The subordinate nature of the chain of command can place power in the hands of those who would abuse. Agency is not afforded to our female soldiers who are being victimized by the very people who are supposed to be protecting them.

[erasmus111]

Well, if your read my post I guess you didn't comprehend......since you attacked out of context. Rapists are the predators. Jerks are the ones who make comments that can be taken as "sexual harrassment" and not appreciated by someone.

Posted by Michelle0809 at 9:33 AM : Mar 18, 2009

I understood you perfectly. And it wasn't out of context at all.

You said that the jerks who are sexually harrassing women, don't realize what they are doing. That they don't mean to do it. I disagree. I think they know exactly what they are doing. I also think that when you say that, it's giving them an excuse to continue.

[Michelle0809]

ERASMUS111 said So...what? Now you are making excuses for them? They know they are being a jerk, they just like to play "stupid". And I don't think the word "jerk" quite covers it.

Well, if your read my post I guess you didn't comprehend......since you attacked out of context. Rapists are the predators. Jerks are the ones who make comments that can be taken as "sexual harrassment" and not appreciated by someone. I make no excuses for either behavior, but some "jerks" can actually be taught to think before opening their mouths and offending. Now some actually get offended over every little innuendo or comment and there isn't much you can do for them, except make no comments at all. Some Jerks really don't mean to offend and some do. The ones who don't mean to offend can learn by the offendee standing up and saying, "knock the crap off" and they will actually stop. Lesson learned. Some just need a baseball bat upside the head. So, I hope you now understand, I didn't say make excuses for any one, I'm saying in plain english - NOT EVERYONE IS A PREDATOR/RAPIST, some just don't have any manners and need to learn some and in fact can, do and will, if it is brought to their attention. Not every woman who say's they were raped, were in fact raped. I find it sad and pathetic that people lie about it, but that is just the way it is and causes alot of harm to those who are actually raped and then have to wade thru the system to get justice.

[erasmus111]

Most really don't realize they are being a jerk.

Posted by Michelle0809 at 8:51 AM : Mar 18, 2009

So...what? Now you are making excuses for them?

They know they are being a jerk, they just like to play "stupid".

And I don't think the word "jerk" quite covers it.

[mecanik-2009]

Think of the context in which these soldiers may have to perform there duties together. They are possibly asked to carve the heart out of an ememy with a bayonet one minute or toss an explosive grenade into a building that occupied by enemy soldiers and see human bodies mangled by something they were ordered to do. Anyone who has seen the movie "Saving Private Ryan" can picture what war is really like. Then we think about the comradery required to undertake that mission and its clear we're not ready to do that. If all a male soldier see's in the female soldier next to him is the possiblility of having sex with her, we have a problem with comradery and mission goals education. That's a problem directed at the leadership of the military to fix. They have let the military get to the point its some sort of country club for citizens looking for a 20 year retirement. Thats not why we spent our tax dollars to create a fighting machine to defend our freedom. War is hell and if we're not ready to tackle the mission we will end up losing. And losing is not an option in a war.

[scydka]

Rapists are the second lowest creatures on earth, next to child molesters.

Why, I ask, should they be treated with the humanity they refuse to show in their actions?

I'm sure if you were raped you'd understand what it's like to be viciously violated, maybe have a different opinion.

[scydka]

I apologise, when I said "this/that man" I forgot I was on this article. I'm bouncing back and forth between this and the Austrian incest article.

[scydka]

Hower4:

Haven't you gone to sing Kumbaya yet and talk and talk and talk with your Islamisty friends?

Americans traditionally love to fight. All real Americans love the sting of battle. When you were kids, you all admired the champion marble shooter, the fastest runner, big league ball players, the toughest boxers. Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser. Americans play to win all the time.?
Patton (1970) ? General George Patton (George C. Scott)


I feel sorry for any government that treats a man like this with "humanity".
...besides, this Hower guy is obviously okay being a part of a "loser" country that regressed from an Empire to a slum, why? Because they took away the weapons, became America's b*tch, let in millions of immigrants, and are chronically afraid of conflict.
This is assuming he's in the UK or a commonwealth... which I know he must be.
Expecting us to follow in their footsteps and become a weak, unarmed, cowardly country. We see how well it worked for you, while you just sit there and let your country be raped by terrorists (who, by the way, EXIST, in case the suicide bombers blowing themselves up in YOUR country isn't proof enough).

[hawbob]

All soldiers male or female should take an oath like the boyscouts and
promise not to commit any crime while in the service especially rape. All
punishment for rape should equal in intensity as the civilian sector.

Every soldier should be issued a certificate that if claiming to be
raped by any serving U.S. serviceperson, that she/he is free to go directly to
the U.S. President and no one else, to state her accusations. Knowledge
of this certificate possession should be known to all.

[Solarrays247]

Posted by hower4

Not everyone can be as superior as you think you are.
Posted by leeanna59 at 8:48 AM : Mar 18, 2009

It definitely sounds like there is something about "rape and justice" discussed in the same topic that has hit a very sore spot with hower4, doesn't it?

Things that make ya go hmmmm-mmm! Hmmm?

By the way, I would think it should be mandatory for any woman serving in the military to learn some form of martial art. She can then conduct her own justice in self-defense! ;)

[Michelle0809]

I served 14 years active duty in the United States Army Military Police Corp. At the time the MP's were predominantly male, and many units I served with I was the only female. I am well aware of the challenges the "lone" female faces. As an MP I am also well aware of the women who were raped and many who said they were raped. While many women have truely been abused and raped, there are also many cases where they weren't also. I've seen cases where superiors flat out said "put out or else", and I've seen cases where the female went to a platoon party got drunk, started making out with one guy and then in their stupor made out with several others and then said rape. I have also seen many cases where the female had sex with her superior and then he wouldn't promote her, give her special favors, leave his wife, be with her publicly, etc,.. and she then claimed rape.
In no way shape or form do I condone rape or abuse, but at the same time I have to say that not all that claim rape were in fact raped.
I have encountered superiors who were jerks, scum and dirty old freaks. I have been propositioned, sexually harrassed and never did I holler rape or even have to report them. I flat out told them that I didn't appreciate the "comment" and to keep it to themselves. One I had, had enough and dumped my soda on him, then the mop bucket and left the station. I told my LT when asked why I did such a thing, and that was the end of it. 99% of the time if you stand up and say I don't like that, they will stop. Most really don't realize they are being a jerk. The few that are predators, will continue until charges are brought. Ladies if you don't have enough gumption to stop them in their tracks before they escalate and if necessary report them to their superiors then you don't have enough backbone to serve in the military in the first place.
Does someone have the right to rape you? NO, but you also have an obligation to yourself to be smart. Don't get drunk in the guy's barracks with a bunch of other drunk idiots and put yourself in the situation in the first place. If their behavior creeps you out, tell them to stop. If you don't get any results with the superiors, go to the IG. You will get it investigated. Fairly!
The Military is a community and just like any community there are good ones, bad ones, stupid ones, smart ones and the in-between. Military training say's you follow orders - so long as - they are lawful orders. If your superior say's put out, that is not a lawful order and YOU have the responsibility to find the guts to say no and report him/her! If you are in fact raped, then YOU need to find the guts to file charges and follow thru.