Sexual Assault Is The United States Military

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

The military has been about being a cohesive group and working together as one. Thus, many victims do not report sexual trauma because of being accused of terminating that cohesive group regardless who should be blamed. Therefore the military has an option for the victims to file a restrictive or unrestrictive report. Thus, the victim has the choice to remain anonymous in a restricted report, and receive necessary medical and psychological treatment. Or victims can choose an unrestricted report and press formal charges against the assailant, but they must disclose all of their information as well (Williams & Bernstein, 2011). This can come at a high cost to the victim if they want to press charges against their assailant. For instance some victims are prosecuted under an Article 15 for drinking or adultery for the same incident (Krul, 2008). The circumstances could impair the victim’s aspirations of making the military a career in the future. That incident could further reduce any chances of future promotions or even could result in a discharge from military service.

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.

Start blaming the system, not the victim. Sexual assault is a crime that is very common, yet the punishment perpetrators receive is not as harsh as it needs to be to reduce the occurrence of these crimes. Laws concerning sexual crimes have been edited over decades to be stricter however, sex offenders typically receive little or no punishment. Sexual Assault is defined as any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient (“Sexual Assault”). Victims of sexual assault are often blamed as the reason for the crime being committed while the blame is taken away from the offender. Harsher punishment must be enacted on sex offenders because the victims suffer conflict from the crime throughout their

Sexual assault can be easily defined in the SHARP Handbook as “Intentional sexual contact characterized by use of force, threats, intimidation, or abuse of authority or when the victim does not or cannot consent. Sexual assault includes rape, forcible sodomy (oral or anal sex), and other unwanted sexual contact that is aggravated, abusive, or wrongful (including unwanted and inappropriate sexual contact), or attempts to commit these acts.” (Glossary, DoDD 6495.01, 23 Jan 12] ) While it may be easy to define it is not always so easy to detect or prevent.

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.

The most significant change in military law is the revisions to the approach cases of sexual assault. These changes will revamp the procedures and policies in order to protect the rights of the alleged victim. This has happened after a period of increasing public concern about the ineffective way that sexual assault cases have been handled in recent years. In 2012 a Pentagon survey approximated that there had been 26,000 instances of sexual assault and of these only 3,374 cases were reported. In 2013 the number of reported cases increased to 5,061, but even then only 484 cases went to trial. The tipping point for the public came in a 2013 case on a military base in Italy. Even though a jury convicted an officer of raping a houseguest while she was sleeping, the general presiding over the case threw out the verdict without an explanation. This spurred a senate subcommittee being formed in order to investigate the issue, and at the end of 2013, the changes to the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

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

“Did you know that every 98 seconds, an American is being sexually assaulted?”(vaglanos) Sexual assault against every person has come to the concern of our human rights. It is despairing to say that people all over the world deal with these situations or at least know somebody that has. Sexual assault can happen to anyone at anytime,and for the longest time horrific events such as rape and nonconsensual sex have been part of a high crime rate.

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).

This statement is true. In one of the videos it mentions how even though the sexual assault has decreased in the military, it is still high and how many cases are unreported or even if they are reported very few of them actually go to court because these military women feel that if they reported they have been sexually assaulted then there would be retaliation from other soldiers and commanding officers. These women feel they won't be believed, or even in this video it mentions how women are being discharged because of sexual assault. Perhaps, the reason why sexually assault in the military is being unreported is because these women are afraid that they won't be believed or justice won't be served.

Since the 1970s law reform surrounding the issue of sexual assault has become more prevalent and extensive enabling law reform commissions and other governmental bodies to act as an effective force in achieving justice for the victims and society.

Unwanted sexual contact is defined by using physical force, the threat of force, or coercion to have intentional sexual contact either directly or through the clothing that does not involve vaginal, anal, or oral penetration. Sexual coercion is defined by using nonphysical force such as verbal pressure or intimidation to complete an unwanted sexual act involving vaginal, anal, or oral penetration. Despite the general consistency in using these terms, there is significant variability in measuring sexual assault in more broad or narrow categories. For the purpose of this study, the term sexual assault will be used and will be inclusive of all types of completed or attempted sexual assault: forced rape, incapacitated rape, sexual coercion, and unwanted sexual

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.