Sexual Assault Prevention Training For Protecting Male Servicemembers

Every two minutes a woman is sexually assaulted in the United States (FBI, 2003). According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, sexual assault is the most under-reported violent crime in the United States. In 2005, the Armed Forces received 2,374 reports of alleged cases of sexual assault involving its members. Of these figures, the Air Force received 584 reports. That is an increase of 28 percent over the past year (DoD, 2005). The Air Force is concerned with the safety, dignity, and well-being of all its members. The Air Force does not tolerate sexual assault and has implemented a comprehensive policy that reinforces prevention, response, and accountability.

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.

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.

“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;

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.

Today I am here to talk to you all about a problem that is sweeping the nation. In 2012, 8.3% of veterans that are women compared to 6.9% of male veterans were unemployed. Most veterans miss out on going to college and getting proper education for getting jobs. The Veterans Health Administration did a poll and the poll showed that one in five female veterans had Military Sexual Trauma. Many women in the survey did not want to say that they have been abused. Women have gotten raped or had attempted rape while serving in the military. There is a girl named Sarah and she told her story about the time she almost got raped by a military guy. Sarah had said that she was having an alcoholic beverage because she was finding out if she got into a really

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

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

“She was drunk she does not remember.” “She’s lying; she just wants a promotion.” “Everyone on base has had sex with her, she’s a whore.” These are all signs why women are afraid to speak out about an attack in the armed forces. Sexual assault happens all over the world, especially in the military. It can be hard to believe because, most people join the military to better themselves and be a role model for others. Society’s views on the military are that they are saviors just simply trying to fight for their country, they are not seen attacking their own. Women and men are both suppose to join together and fight for their country rather then fighting against each other. This is saddening because the military

Whether or whether not women speak up, doesn’t change the fact that it is happening in the military. Women in general deal with the effects of sexual trauma, but military women may have to re-live it on a day to day basis. As quoted in the article, perpetrators are typically other military personnel, and victims often must continue to live and work with their assailants daily (para. 5). Because of the seriousness of MST, each VA hospital now has a designated coordinator to oversee MST screening and treatment (para. 5). The authors purpose is ultimately to study the VHA’S MST program. It provides the opportunity to investigate the screenings for sexual violence (para. 2). It is very important that women with MST are able to get some type of help, and medication for the after effects of the traumatic experiences they endured while in the

It's useless to acknowledge a problem and not offer any sort of improvement or suggestions. College and Universities should be responsible for providing sexual assault prevention as well as awareness especially to freshman and sophomores since most sexual assaults happen in the first two years of college. It is important that sexual assault prevention strategies be set up in a matter where incoming students are educated as soon as enrollment is completed. Programs should focus on both prevention for women who have not experienced any sexual assault and also provide prevention to those have experienced it before. Providing accurate information on legal definitions of sexual assault, the extent of sexual assault among college women, and risk

Looking at the topic of sexual harassment and sexual assault in the military it is important to note the statistics between the members of the military and those of the civilian population. It is noted that similarly to the civilian sector, the vast number of sexual harassment and sexual assault victims are female. But when looking at the military as a whole, approximately 26% of female service members experienced sexual harassment compared to 7% of male service members, whereas 20% of women versus 1% of men experienced sexual assault. The incidence of sexual assault is much higher in the military when compared to the civilian statistics that 16% of women have been sexually assaulted. However when the individual services are examined there

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.