Alarming Sex Assault Rate Found Among Vets

CBS Evening News: Records Show 1 In 7 Female Iraq And Afghanistan Veterans Treated By The VA Suffered Sexual Trauma

(CBS)  For a soldier, the wounds of war can be felt long after a tour of duty ends, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports, and not all of them are inflicted by the enemy. Tuesday, researchers reported that an alarming number of female soldiers have sought treatment for sexual assault committed by fellow soldiers.

A Veterans Administration study found that one in seven female veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan seeking medical care from the VA suffered sexual trauma - everything from harassment to rape.

Medical records of 125,000 war veterans, both men and women, showed 15 percent of the women reported sexual trauma. That works out to nearly 2,600 veterans.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg, since the study covered only a fraction of the 870,000 veterans who have fought - and none still on active duty.

"I do feel that it is much higher than that, and if they could get the records of all the women that have returned that had been sexually assaulted, those afraid to come in, they would find that it's a lot higher," said Wanda Story.

Story, who was raped twice during her military service 20 years ago, now heads the United Female Veterans of America.

She says the military has done a lot to improve the climate for women, but war makes it worse.

"They're out there, they're away from their families, they're away from their girlfriends, you know, their wives," she said. "They see an opportunity."

A recent survey by the Government Accountability Office of just 13 military bases found 103 servicemembers who say they've been sexually assaulted in the previous 12 months. Numbers like that produced this jaw-dropping statement by Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif.:

"Women serving in the military today are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than to be killed by enemy fire in Iraq," Harman said.

And women who suffer sexual trauma are more likely to develop medical and mental problems. Studies show it ranks high - or higher - than combat as a cause of post-traumatic stress disorder.

[emg50]

My wife was raped at Ft. Bragg while she was in the NC Army National Guard 20 years ago. This atrocious act occurred before I met her. Her MST/PTSD still affects her (and us). Nothing was done to her attacker either. The Army is not doing enough to prosecute these offenders. The Army is not believing the victims. No wonder the assaults are not being reported. The numbers are of assaults are higher than what the statistics are showing. Why aren't the other soldiers protecting the women just as they have their "buddies" backs in all other situations?
She has been fighting with the VA ever since. The VA is ineffective and inefficient in handling their caseload. She has to quote the VA's own regulations to back to them on her claims and appeals. SHAMEFUL!

[cartom124]

I was raped while I was in the Army stationed at Ft. Benjamin Harrison in 1966 and I was the one punished for years because it was covered up and pushed under the carpet. They "just couldn't" prosecute and "decorated serviceman". I spent a week in the hospital and when I kept asking what the Army was going to do about it I was told to keep my mouth shut or suffer the consequences. Well, I didn't keep my mouth shut and kicked out of the Army. I have been fighting since for my rights as it destroyed my entire life and cause multiple medical conditions. I kept being denied by VA for MST/.PTSD as they claimed it never happened as did the Army. Well, I finally met up with a Vet who helped me prove my case and I was told by the VA doctor who reviewed my case "This shouldn't have gone for 42 years because all the evidence was in my medical records.

In the civial world this wouldn't have been covered up for 42 years, these men wouldn't get away with what they are doing to woman in the military. Now it has gotten worse because now if you "complain" or report it you stand a chance of being murdered. Look at the facts people and stop blaming the women for this as we aren't to blame in the military anymore than in civilian life. Men use that as an excuse to get away with what they do. I agree some women should dress more appropriately but when we all where the same kind of clothes in the military what is the excuse then. I (as were all females) was in a separte barracks just for the WACS and wore a military uniform just like the men. What did I do wrong to be punished for the rest of my life, because I dared stand up for the rights of my country? Surprise, men are also being raped by other men in the military so what is the excuse there. They aren't reported much either but it still destroys their lives and the guys get a way with it. It isn't going to stop because these guys know they aren't going to be prosecuted. Just wanted to verse my opinion and let people know this isn't anything knew and it doesn't just happen to women in the military.

[czphoenix]

I will take this back even farther. I was in the US Air Force in the mid-seventies, stationed at David-Monthan AFB in Tucson, AZ. I was a fuel systems mechanic, and the only female in an all male shop, and I was married to another AF member who was not in my shop. From day one, in that fuel systems shop, I got nothing but sexually inappropriate commentary from my so called fellow airmen. I was brutally raped multiple times, in the uni-sex bathroom that didn't have an inside lock. (It did, when I got there, but it was mysteriously removed within the first month that I was there.)

I got pregnant (by my husband) but continued in the Air Force. The people in my shop never stopped. Not once, even during the pregnancy. When I did complain to my superiors, I was scoffed off. More than once I heard "It's a man's world. It's a man's job. If you can't do it, then maybe you should have become a secretary." Hello? I wasn't having a problem doing the work, I was having a problem with the people with whom I worked. I complained to two different shop cheifs, two different commanders, one first sergeant and lo and behold all that got me was transferred to a different shop. Same building, same restroom, same people. Some solution.

Now, all these years later, I am still dealing with post traumatic stress disorder because of these guys. And the guys who did it? No, they never even got so much as a slap on the wrist. One commander did have "a talk" with the shop on a day when I wasn't there. All that did was make the harrassment and the rapes go underground and become more violent.

Ms. Couric, sexual assault in the military is nothing new. Sadly, as long as the females in the military are treated like the problem and the cause instead of the victims, nothing is going to change.

I am extremely proud of the time I served for my country. I would do it again in a heart beat. I would just make sure that any male in the military who touched me inappropriately or made lewd remarks would bare the scars for the rest of his life.

[thall6867]

As I watched this story about sexual assault in the military, I once again was yanked back to 1989, when I was raped. I was in the Air Force stationed in Okinawa. My so-called "boyfriend" conspired with his best friend to have his best friend rape me. I did report it and it did go to court-martial, but not before my life was destroyed there. They both worked in the same shop as I did, but I was the one who was moved to another location to work. The defense attorney had me followed and threatened anyone that was seen with me. Worst of all, no one believed me. It took a year to go to court, and they were both convicted of rape and conspiracy to rape. They both were discharged dishonorably, but they received slaps on the hand as far as I'm concerned. The boyfriend went to prison for only a year, and the best friend picked up trash around the base for 3 months. I still suffer from post-traumatic stress because of their actions and I'm still angry; it's ridiculous and downright shameful that things have changed so little since then. Women have become an integral part of our armed forces and they deserve better. They take the same oath as men do, they work just as hard if not harder than men do, and make the same sacrifices. Nothing will change until people in charge change their attitudes, start realizing how serious a crime rape is and begin to punish perpetrators of sexual assault. These perpetrators give us victims a life sentence, so they should receive sentences like they have given us.

I was a Soldier some time ago, back about a decade ago. I too was assaulted, raped. I was in AIT at FT Bliss. I did not want to report it. I knew it would do no good, no matter what they said, just had that feeling. But it came out when I had to confide in my Platoon SGT about why I did not want to be in the same rotation as this Soldier. She turned around and reported me. It was hell. I was removed from the Platoon, put in different barracks, interrogated like you would not believe, made a complete outcast with not a single friend, and I was held back from my class (after 62 weeks of AIT training) to re-do a rotation I had done very well in. This did result in one good thing, as i did find that a Patient who was being treated for Leukemia had progressed, and the Professionals all around me had missed it, which was life saving to that Patient (maybe it was meant to be). All this, I believe, was to make it more difficult for me, and I graduated still. Not a thing happened to this Soldier. I was not surprised. I felt persecuted and raped again.

[ajapierce]

I am not saying the rape is right, it is wrong, very wrong. But i would like to point out that woman, in this country in particular are more daring and living life dangerously then their male counterparts.

I don''t like how this society likes to sell *** as the every day thing, here''s a perfect example, let''s spend $150,00 of the tax payers money to make sure Sarah Palin is hot looking. What the h*ll is wrong with people.

Everyone now a days wants to put their daughters out there with big a** words over the chest and their butts, and THEY LIKE EXPECT GUYS not to say or comment on it? Do they not think that if you don''t want un-wanted attention to stop showing off your natural or fake boobs all the time? Do they not think wearing the least amount of clothing doesn''t attract the wrong kind of attention? Well it does.

If you were walking outside with $100,000 in cash in your hands through a nice or bad neighborhood, If you don''t think someone would rob your money while your standing there thinking "I have the right to walk outside with $100,000 cash in my hands, and no one has the right to steal it from me".

What makes you think if you are showing off all your goods out there that you don''t think someone is going to want to take them??? The U.S. Goverment is raping us into a recession, high gas prices, mortgages for people who can''t afford them. But when the people guiltly of the crime don''t go behind bars, we thank them with billions of dollars of blood money.

[vetwow]

www.vetwow.com for men and women who are raped in the military. We offer support and information for active duty and veterans to obtain benefits and medical/mental health care.

[andrew_693]

these days the army takes anybody, rapists murderers...there is hardly any standard left as a barrier.

[differnet]

As both a female vet and a rape survivor, I would just like to give some perspective to this story. In 1998 almost 100,000 civilian rapes were reported in the USA. That number represent only the rapes that were reported. American females have between a 1 in 4 chance to 1 in 6 chance of being sexually assualted, depending upon your source, among the general population. I also want to tell you that while in the US Army, I served in JAG and assisted in the prosecution of rape charges. I know all about how rape is treated in the military and believe me it''s one of the most hated crimes and JAG pursues the criminals to the full extent of Military Justice.

The truth is that rape is no more or less likely to happen to a woman in the military than it is on the streets of the USA. Men throughout the world are waging war on women. You can tell yourself that it won''t happen to your sister or your mother and that you would never committ rape, but you are lying to yourself. As John Lennon said, "Woman is the N*gger of the World."

[n0thng2bdone]

What do you expect? These VOLUNTEER mercenaries are the lowest. Stay the f*ck in Oklahoma.

[n0thng2bdone]

What do you expect? These mercenaries are the lowest! I blame them more than the administration for the daily atrocities! This is a voluntary force. How about staying in Oklahoma, as a wise man once said?!

[n0thng2bdone]

What do you expect? These mercenaries are the lowest of the low. How about staying in Oklahoma?!

[frankie2fing]

You posters trying to defend an indefensable position: Rape is NEVER about ***. Its about power and control. And you are very wrong. A woman in the armed forces is MORE likely to be a victim of sexual harassment or rape than the genpop. And it is MORE likely NOT to be reported. Someone needs to be held accountable and it should start at the top. Who is the Commander-in-Chief? Where is HIS indignation to these horrid actions? But, of course, a woman should stay where they belong - in the kitchen, or teaching and supporting their idiot husbands.

[drivelphobe]

deinie...

Try thinking before you spout off. I made no comparison between mothers and illegal aliens. I know women are equally capable and often time more capable than men in a number of professions. Don''t be so sensitive. Read what I posted.

My point was clear, but you jumped the gun and let you hormones guide you through the post.

[garys21121]

Hey, A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words
www.garyinthemorning.com

[karela33]

Men go to war and many come home with post traumatic stress syndrome from the war. Women go to war and suffer all the same things men do AND they also get raped by their comrades in arms. What do you want to bet that the Israeli Armed Forces handles that situation better then we do? All of their citizens, both men and women serve and they couldn''t afford to allow this kind of behavior to go on and on like U.S. military does. I''m glad they''re getting better, but if better still means you''ve got a better chance of getting raped by "friendly fire" than of being wounded by the enemy, then they still have a long, long way to go. The army could do a whole lot better with this. If straight, macho guys were getting raped by brutish animals, they''d find a way toot sweet because it would be too harmful to the military to allow. Priorities.

[deinie]

"I also believe that the oversupply of labor, particularly women taking jobs to add to the family''''s income, illegal aliens, and the shipping jobs out of the country, are the villains in the dilution of wages."
- drivelphobe
Wow... comparing us to illegal aliens. Women are capable of doing more than popping out kids and housework. Believe it or not, we can work outside the house and raise strong families too.

[differnet]

Possibly true, but it is more likely to be swept under the rug and not prosecuted in a system that is isolated from the legal system and is a law unto itself.

The US military is an anachronism, a throw-back to Sparta or Rome. It is NOT the defender of the country, it is NOT comprised of "citizen soldiers" but is its own country and a leech on the American society.
Posted by Nancy_Naive at 09:40 AM : Oct 29, 2008

First, the numbers don''t lie. So civilian women ARE more likely to be raped. Second, for a woman who has never served, you make a huge leap. The military is hardly an anachronism. I''m sure you were very happy the military existed on 9/11 or for days afterwards. Like many Americans you have a very short memory.

[drivelphobe]

ncgritsgirl..

I like your style.

Have a nice day.

[ncgritsgirl]

I got off on a tangent and didn''t write something I want all soldiers, marines, airmen & sailors to know: I''m very sorry that some of you have experienced rape. I pray for all of our military and their families, daily. From an old Ft. Bragg gal...HUGS N'' HOOAH''S!