Dispute Systems Design : U.s. Military Special Victims

In more than just the examples given in the documentary, reporting a sexual assault seems almost baffling in terms of procedure, both in military life and in civilian. It is a difficult enough prosses for a man or women to endure in civilian life. Just noting what I have witnessed in my time here at Georgia Southern University, it is a long, horrifying, and complex means to achieve justice, and even then, it is certainly not guaranteed. Even at the conclusion of this class, it is still difficult to grasp the blatant disregard for an entire section of the armed forces. The ones who are willing to make the huge personal sacrifices to serve their own country, when that same courtesy would never be reciprocated. As stated multiple times in The

In the past, military news typically evolved tragic training incidents or deaths during overseas combat. However, over the last several years many incidents involving military personnel and sexual assault have made headlines across the United States. Military women and men have brought to light the lack of justice for victims of sexual assault, and the prevalence of such attacks. Questions arise as to why victims do not report incidents or seek assistance when they are physically or sexually assaulted. Many reasons are due to how the system of reporting is established within the military, retaliation and further re-victimization within the chain of command. Modifications to the current system have begun within the Department of Defense and

Throughout the world, deviant acts and social controls are committed everyday. An incredibly significant one that is often unreported is sexual assault within the military. Sexual assault is already determined as an extremely deviant act throughout the world. All acts of rape and other abusive acts should never be dismissed or ignored, but rape within the military is often not reported or recognized. If it is brought to light, the victims are generally in fear of losing their positions, rankings, homes, relationships with their spouses and families, etc…. This is not to state that men are not also victims of sexual assault, but women are much more prone and vulnerable to being attacked and harassed. I will be focusing on the female victims of military assault in this paper.

“The most shocking cover up in the United States Military is not what you would expect (The Invisible War),” reports of sexual assaults over all branches of the military have tremendously increase every since women have been allow to take part of the military. According to the Secretary of Defense, over 500,000 male and female soldiers have suffered of sexual abuse from senior peers and commanders. During the past years, many women reported a variety of cases of sexual abuse. Sadly, the victims were only ignored, blamed and punished for the events. Sexual assaults are considered a scandalous subject which our military has decided to avoid, but by doing so, the number of rapes has increase even faster. Rape is a repetitive criminal;

In the training the soldiers of the United States Army receive they learn about the two types of reporting options that are available to the victims of sexual assault; the restricted reporting and the unrestricted reporting. The restricted reporting option gives the soldiers the option of seeking medical aid and counseling while not initiating a formal investigation. While this option helps the victim get the help they need it does not hold the perpetrator accountable for their actions. The unrestricted reporting on the other hand still helps the soldier get the medical treatment and counseling they may need but it initiates a formal investigation. A soldier who files a restricted report can later go back and change their report to a unrestricted and start a formal investigation but an unrestricted report can never be changed to a restricted report. The training highlights some of the behaviors that predators use so that you may know what to look out for. According to the Army there are no more passive bystanders it is everyone’s responsibility to intervene.

Throughout history, the United States Military has faced numerous scandals. From its role in the Vietnam War, to the Iran-Contra Affair, to the Iraq War, to the abuse and denial of due process rights to detainees currently held indefinitely at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; the Department of Defense has undeniably raised many questions about its ethics and treatment toward both civilians and fellow members of the Armed Forces alike. One recent scandal, which would now appear to be becoming the standard, is that of sexual assault within the military. However, due to a campaign of awareness, grassroots activism, and pressuring elected officials to do what is right, things are now beginning to change.

Women have been sexually harassed and assaulted in the work force for years, and for many years, the US Army has been dealing with this enormous and overwhelming issue, through the help of their agency known as the Equal Opportunity Program (EOP). In the US Army regulation 600-20, Army Chief of Staff, General Raymond T Odierno, States the purpose, “This regulation prescribes the policies and responsibilities of command, which include the Well-being of the force, military discipline, and conduct, the Army Equal Opportunity (EO) Program, and the Army Sexual Assault Victim Program.“ For a long time, the Army’s EOP Equal Opportunity

The purpose of this essay is to discuss the issue of rape and sexual assault in the military. The number of attacks for rape and sexual assault in the military are at an all-time high. Women have recently been allowed to fight on the front line. While this may be a huge achievement for women-kind, for this woman, it is a very scary thought. I am a junior at Texas Academy of Biomedical Sciences; a school geared towards students wishing to enter the medical field. I may be forced to join the military one day if a war breaks out and women are needed to protect the country. I would be happy to serve my country if I did not have to be scared of my fellow soldiers. Rape and sexual assault are major issues in the military and

US Armed Forces is historically an organization lead by men, for men. It is comprised of about 14.5 % female and 85.5% male according to a 2011poll (CNN U.S, Jan 2014). In an organization with a rich history and legacy of obedience and restraint, it is hard to imagine the secret society of “The good ol boys”. It has been acceptable for men to “work hard, play hard”. We have all seen the movies where the men come back from overseas, invade the bars, have a good time, take a girl home, and it is acceptable behavior. What happens after they leave the bar? What happens when she says no? In November of 2013, there were 3,553 reported sexual assault cases (ABC News, 2013).

More than a decade after rape or physical assault during military service, women reported severely decreased health-related quality of life, with limitations of physical and emotional health, educational and financial attainment, and severe, recurrent problems with work and social activities.” (Para 4.) The article talks about the frequency of women getting raped or sexually assaulted, and the injuries that these women face physically and emotionally, even years after the incident occurs. In this particular study, a “Cohort of women veterans who served in the Vietnam, post-Vietnam, or Persian Gulf War era was selected.” (Para 9.) Around six hundred women participated in this study, and “Almost half the participants (48%) reported some type of physical or sexual victimization during their military service. Physical assault was reported by 35%, and most (58%) had been assaulted at least twice. Rape was reported by 30%, in 11% it was attempted and in 19% completed.” The seriousness of these situations recurring should not go

The unique culture in the military endorses discipline, loyalty and collectivism values. Men and women feel discouraged to report sexual assault committed by fellow service members, because of the unity and unique culture in the military (Niebuhr 1997; Department of the Air Force, 2003). Parallel to this, men serving in the military that accuse or report their attackers can be faced with ridicule and accusations of being homosexual. They can also be charged with fraternisation or other associated behaviors under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (Helle 2004; Nelson 2002 cited in Hoyt et al. 2011). In contrast, this injustice delays the investigation process, which delays or has a zero probable chance of the perpetrators being punished (Cook

They feel as though there is no one that can help them and that they are alone. This phase “may be expressed several hours or even days after the crime” (Bard and Sangrey, 1979, pg. 35).

Social Media and local news coverage of high profile famous cases of sexual assault can give a misleading perceptions of the actual cause of the problem. Some of these articles talk about the stereotype with ‘stranger danger’ sexual assault and how it is actually not true.Most people who experience sexual assault are assaulted by someone who they actually

The military has become the epicenter for rape and abuse of women, all of which military officials have swept aside with all too little concern. Case after case of rape and sexual harassment are dismissed with little to no investigation made. The women of the military live scared of their male superiors and colleagues, and what they might do. Victims of sexual harassment or rape often see their pursuers honorably discharged and returned to society with no criminal record.

in 2016 compared to 6,082 last year, an annual military report showed. This was a sharp jump from 2012 when 3,604 cases were reported. Few bills have been presented in Congress against the institution for fear of disrespecting those who are fighting for our country. By attacking one section of the military for injustice and abuse, there is fear that this could possibly only be scratching the surface of the issue. Protections for women in the military seem to have a bleak outcome due to the fact that more recently similar ideas surrounding sexual abuse of females within militaries have become more prevalent.