Women at War: Sexual Violence in the US Military

**Dylan MacVillain** · 17th-February-2010

Women at War: Sexual Violence in the US Military

Women at war: How roles are changing
Helena Merriman reports on a woman whose experience of sexual assault, while serving in the US Air Force in Afghanistan, turned her into a campaigner for the welfare of service women.

..."You're supposed to carry your weapon at all times in a combat zone," she said.
"But I put my weapon down and walked away to smoke a cigarette and that was when I was attacked."
She was then dragged behind some power generators and raped.
"If I had kept my weapon maybe I would have been able to prevent it," she says.
"But if I had used it I would probably have ended up in jail."
She went to the authorities but they told her that if she filed a claim, she would be charged with dereliction of duty for leaving her weapon unattended in a combat zone - an offence for which you can be court-martialled.
So she kept quiet and the man who attacked her went unpunished.
"It would be my word over his and they are not going to take my word over his," she said.
When she returned from Afghanistan, she did not talk to anyone about what happened. She says she felt it was all her fault.
'Heartbreaking' phone calls
Congressional leaders, who have been holding hearings this month on sexual assault in the armed forces, say that more needs to be done to tackle what recent studies indicate is a widespread problem...

...30% of the 500 female veterans interviewed reported an attempted or completed rape.
Equally worryingly, the Department of Defense estimated in its 2009 annual report on sexual assault, that around 90% of rapes in the military are never reported...

..."I'm told that the statistics are that once you have been raped in the military you are most likely to be raped over and over."
She says that not enough prosecutions are happening and that while the Pentagon is taking it more seriously, big changes still need to be made.
"Why is it that when a woman alleges rape, the outcome shows that the man who supposedly did this was demoted or moved to another unit? I want to know why this is happening!"...

..."There is a culture that if you report someone, you are seen as a weak soldier who failed to defend yourself," she says.
But she says this does not mean that women should not be serving in the army.
"It is the men who are committing a crime who have a problem. The military has to deal with them and not punish women by shutting them out from this career," she says.
Ms Benedict says that economics may help to bring about the cultural change that she says the army needs.
"The recession means more women are joining the military then ever before. So as women become less of a minority and rise in the ranks and get more power, hopefully the culture will begin to shift," she says...

**rohara** · 17th-February-2010

I am forever skeptical about these kinds of reports coming from the military. This story has hype and hysteria written all over it. I live in Alexandria Va. a really big military town and there are a lot of veterans coming here all the time. If rape were as prevalent as they say it is in almost every major publication and news service then I would be hearing guys tell me stories about how they rape women all the time. But, naturally I do not.
Does anybody check up on these stories? Does anybody care to scrutinize the accuser? We are talking about an insane situation that is being described here and it just doesn't jibe with reality. The press just grabs on to an anecdotal story, doesn’t even ask themselves whether or not it is a lie and very likely embellishes it in order to get more traction in their media markets and then publishes. The madness described in articles like these just doesn't wash with me anymore.
The military is the perennial target of such smearing not because it is a misogynistic organization but rather for the simple fact that when they are protecting other people they cannot protect their own reputation.

**Popadibs** · 17th-February-2010

It is ironic when a country does not defend and protect those that are expected to defend and protect the country.

**rohara** · 17th-February-2010

Quote from samofsons

things happen. it's war , and none of them were drafted..
its just WAR , its about suffering , thats what its about.
what percent of female soldiers are killed or lose arms and legs by IED's compared to men?

it sucks if some get raped, but they are more likely to get raped as a civilian outside
of the military back at home.
it just seems like everywhere women go , suddenly everything becomes about women.
and that is the main reason why some don't want them in or around combat.
i personally say , if they want in , fuck it let them in.
but you have to prove yourself a solider , just like men do.
you don't just show up and rise rank overnight because you have a vajayjay.

until they are dying in horrible ways and losing body parts the rate that men are ,
i have little sympathy for what happens to them while in the military.

so 'women at war' and 'men at war'
you can compare it to how nice the womens restroom is compared to the mens.

Sam,

Here is the thing:
The military is a literal cross section of the American public and basically do not behave as a group any differently than the general public does. It is hard for civilians to believe this because it is "the military" and they are supposed to be different but they really are not.
What is different though is how the press projects onto the military its own vision of what is going on; true or not. The press' antagonization of the military is long standing and they definitely like to give servicemen a lot of shit because it is in their interests to do so.
If this woman was really raped then that sucks. But to say that she is more likely to be raped simply because she is in the military is total bullshit. To say that she is more likely to be raped because she is deployed is bullshit too.
Again, this story has all of the hallmarks of hype and hysteria and I don't like it. A pretty blond girl, a cigarette, a generator somewhere, and two guys that raped her. Are those all of the details we get? WTF? The press can always get away with publishing stories like this without backing them up for one reason and one reason alone: they are attacking a public entity that they hate and that has no recourse against them. The press truly love it when they can paint every male service member as a violent heathen that can't get employment anywhere else and I have heard enough of it.

**Popadibs** · 17th-February-2010

Quote from rohara

Sam,

Here is the thing:
The military is a literal cross section of the American public and basically do not behave as a group any differently than the general public does. It is hard for civilians to believe this because it is "the military" and they are supposed to be different but they really are not.
What is different though is how the press projects onto the military its own vision of what is going on; true or not. The press' antagonization of the military is long standing and they definitely like to give servicemen a lot of shit because it is in their interests to do so.
If this woman was really raped then that sucks. But to say that she is more likely to be raped simply because she is in the military is total bullshit. To say that she is more likely to be raped because she is deployed is bullshit too.
Again, this story has all of the hallmarks of hype and hysteria and I don't like it. A pretty blond girl, a cigarette, a generator somewhere, and two guys that raped her. Are those all of the details we get? WTF? The press can always get away with publishing stories like this without backing them up for one reason and one reason alone: they are attacking a public entity that they hate and that has no recourse against them. The press truly love it when they can paint every male service member as a violent heathen that can't get employment anywhere else and I have heard enough of it.

I'd take up arms and defend military men before I'd defend women.

**Percy** · 18th-February-2010

I cannot speak for this woman as, as has been said, the 'details' are scant. But I am very skeptical.And not just of her reported words but of the claims made on her behalf - and 'womens' behalf - by others.

I have experience of the military life and the incidence of rape - of most crime in fact - is tiny to insignificant. Just as in civilian environments.

I cannot speak for the US military apart from some experiences serving with them (and a period commanding US forces in Britain) but found the men and women I had close contact with to be more honourable than most civilians. I am well aware of differences between 'national' forces and in some respects the American military is often portrayed in a manner that does not accord with reality, but/and the behaviour of 'lower ranks' can sometimes be a worry. But I have never been struck by any sign of a preponderance of bad behaviour of the sort described.

It is also easy to have 'quotes' taken out of context. I recall a discussion on this forum (or maybe SYG) some years ago when a young American female soldier published a book 'Love my Rifle more than you'. The general view was that she was a skanky liar who complained with typical feminist bristling, exaggeration and male bashing. But I read her book and she came across as a worthy soldier with many reasonable observations and a balanced view of the rough and the smooth. She had made some small negative observations among a lot of very positive ones. Those negatives were blown out of proportion by others.

**Kargan3033** · 25th-February-2010

The answer this is so called *Problem* is simple NO WOMEN IN THE ARMED FORCES!.
Hell we are know that women are not held to the same levels as male soilders and that most females in the army use everything they can to opt out of combat duty or get asigned to no combat roles.
If you join the army then you should be prepaired to put your ass on the firing line reguardless with you are a man or women, also I think womne should have to face the draft just like men, after all we all about "Equalty" right?

**Feckless** · 25th-February-2010

I might help to decipher this (without giving source as most of the stuff is somewhere on my blog).

The last time I saw such a survey with a high result, they interviewed veterans at a veteran hospital. As women are less likely to be in combat a high percentage of those women at this hospital were there because of sexual trauma. And despite women being more likely (higher percentage) to be assaulted in the army there are still more male victims (number) in the army.

So yes, one can argue that the army has a rape problem, maybe even a serious one, but don't forget the number of male rape victims in the army that have similar problems.

**Zuberi** · 25th-February-2010

This article has network propaganda written all over it!

The title gave this crap away!

**Dylan MacVillain** · 26th-February-2010

Quote from Feckless

I might help to decipher this (without giving source as most of the stuff is somewhere on my blog).

The last time I saw such a survey with a high result, they interviewed veterans at a veteran hospital. As women are less likely to be in combat a high percentage of those women at this hospital were there because of sexual trauma. And despite women being more likely (higher percentage) to be assaulted in the army there are still more male victims (number) in the army.

So yes, one can argue that the army has a rape problem, maybe even a serious one, but don't forget the number of male rape victims in the army that have similar problems.

Are you talking about men being raped by other men or by women, or both?