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

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

[suzecar]

Katie, I applaud you for your story on sexual assault in the military. Having said that, there is a lot more to this story and I hope you will pursue it in more de;pth. I have personally worked with military victims of sexual assault and the way these cases are handlled is disgraceful. As we know from past scandals such as Tailhook, the only way things will change in the military is for the media to shine a bright light on the problem.
These women and men who are victims of sexual assault deserve to be treated better by the military. The military states that they want to create a culture of zero tolerance for sexual assault. It is probably safe to say that this goal is far from being achieved. Too often the victims are consistently "revictimized" by their military leadership. At times I feel it would be a better choice for them to not report the sexual assault at all. You are absolutely right that too often the offender is not punished. If you really want to "support the troops", I ask that you explore this issue further.

[ClaimingJustice]

There is a growing presence of people looking to change the situations survivors face and the aspects of military service that create these negative experiences.

One such is Claiming Justice, which focuses on MST claims at the VA. For more information go to www.claimingjustice.org

The stories here are true, if you have experienced MST please seek out people who will support you, not internet commentators who try to deny you your honor and dignity.

[denn034]

The moral waivers mentioned in the newest story on this is a possible explanation. Don't forget sexual harrassment being seen as a possible way out of the Army, Afghanistan, and Iraq though.

[downunder5035]

The recently released Australian "Report of the Independent Review on the Health of the Reformed Military Justice System" dated 23JAN2009 from a US ally may help victims have supporting reference and legal closure in due course. http://www.defence.gov.au/publications/Report_Reformed_Military_Justice_System.pdf

[brozee_jade]

The website the victim in the story started is

www.militarysexualtrauma.org

please check it out and check your facts!

[lauravetwow]

TO ALL VETS who were raped/sexually assaulted in the miitary.

we can help with your claim no matter how long ago it was. VSO's rarely know what to do with a claim for mst

laura
vetwow

[denn034]

Soldiers have probably come to see sexual abuse as a way out of the Army and service in Afghanistan and Iraq. Such would explain the sudden spike in such.

[magioe]

Strange............. the other way around is EXACTLY what I've heard is the typical situation. Women in the military who claim rape are almost always disbelieved and are 'encouraged' to forget it happened or leave ASAP.
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First, as this article shows, victims- especially those who do not get justice- tend to get far more press than the accused, even if the accused are in fact innocent. So from a perception standpoint, someone outside the military (and the US) could certainly get the impression- incorrectly- that the military as an organization does not take rape and sexual assult seriously.

Second- not only is the 'encouragement' you mention not as widespread as you might believe, it tends to happen, if at all, at the local command level, not at higher levels, and CERTAINLY not in the court system.

[donnahauk-midwest_1]

I was sexually assaulted over 20 years ago in the army by my superior. Now they can't find any evidence that the incident ever occurred. It was investigated but only at the post level and he was not charged with anything-only removed from his position and relocated to another duty station. Is that punishment? He ruined my career as a soldier and my life the way I knew it before the attack. I filed a claim but I can't prove that it happened because there is no record on file with the US ArmyCriminal Records Division. There are many more like me.

[magioe]

Really? So you're telling us that in the American armed forces rape doesn't have to be proved in a court?
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No- he's saying that when it comes to rape, American courts (military or otherwise) err on the side of caution- which means despite the credo of our justice system, accused rapists and sexual assaulters are often "guilty until proven innocent" rather than the other way around. It's an indication of just how seriously America takes rape, but it also results in some not-so-guilty parties getting the short end of the stick. I obviously don't know all the details of his situation, but circumstances like the one he is describing are certainly not unheard of.