Military Sexual Assault Research

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 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.

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

Canada’s military chief says sex assaults continue to be a problem in the Canadian Forces because, “we’re biologically wired in a certain way.”

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

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 Invisible War,” it is noted that “women who have been raped in the military have a PTSD rate higher than men who have been in combat” (The Invisible War, 2012). The impact that military sexual assault has on victims is tremendous. Both physical and mental trauma are common, and they play a significant role in how victims of sexual assault are able to return to their daily lives.

Source (Please attach copy of article): Bell, M., Turchik, J., & Karpenko, J. (2014). Impact of Gender on Reactions to Military Sexual Assault and Harassment. Health & Social Work, 39(1), 25-33.

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

“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;

Causes of Military Sexual Assault. On one hand the blame of military sexual assault is cast upon the offenders; meanwhile, on the other hand, the blame is pushed onto military heads and leaders. The military promotes an overarching characteristic of masculinity. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines masculinity as “constituting the gender that ordinarily includes most words or grammatical forms referring to males,” this definition proves that the word masculine is equivalent to being seen as manly. Within the military, “particular attitudes toward masculinity have been found to be related to heightened levels of rape propensity. Standards of masculinity that emphasize dominance, assertiveness, aggressiveness, independence, self-sufficiency, and willingness to take risks” (Morris 701). Overall the majority of military leaders and important personnel look for masculinity as the dominating trait to make a soldier and that is one of the causes of military sexual assault. With this being said, the military does not want someone who is weak; however, you will find that women are considered the “weak link” in the military. Russell Strand, of the Family Advocacy Law Enforcement Training Division claimed “Masculinity cannot be victimized, because if you are a leader, if you are a masculine person and you are victimized, then you are weak” (Strand). If a women does not demonstrate masculinity or dominance she is seen as weak and is at higher

A 2011 Pentagon report estimated 80% to 90% of military sexual trauma experiences go unreported, Burgess et al. (2013). Even if victims of military sexual trauma report or do not report occurrences, they still tend to seek treatment for a myriad of negative physical symptoms possible related to the violence. Confidentiality, fear of repercussions, and commander subjectivity are some reasons for not reporting the military sexual trauma. Early work after Gulf War I documented those who reported being sexually assaulted by a fellow soldier were nine times more likely to develop PTSD (Friedman,

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 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

In the military, most female victims are sexually assaulted by male offenders; however male victims are sexually assaulted by roughly equal percentages of male and female offenders. Physical injuries and sexually transmitted infections can sometimes occur. While some sexual assaults can result in very serious injury, many involve minor or nonvisible injuries to victims. Psychological injuries may occur immediately following the assault or weeks. Psychological injuries may not resolve without treatment—victims can’t just “get over it.” Fear, irritability, confusion, and sleep disruption, may often occur during or immediately following the assault. In about one third of cases, victims may experience post-traumatic anxiety symptoms that interfere with their work, social or home life. Some victims may also experience serious depression or problems with alcohol and substances as they try to reduce the intensity of the problem the symptom. Also suicide can take place from emotion